Book Reviews

I've published twelve book reviews. Sometimes editors assigned me the books, but mostly I got to choose the titles. These articles have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the East Bay Express, the Hyde Park Review of Books, Rain Taxi Review of Books, Persimmon, and on the "Kanji Clinic" site. I've included a sampling here:

• Kanji Pict-o-Graphix by Michael Rowley
  My review appears on Mary Sisk Noguchi's "Kanji Clinic" site.
• Losing Kei, by Suzanne Kamata
  My review of this Japan-themed novel appeared in the "Datebook" section of the San Francisco Chronicle on March 20, 2008. Losing Kei is the story of a young American woman who moves to Japan and marries unhappily into a traditional Japanese family.
• Midori by Moonlight, by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
  This Japan-themed novel explores painful realities but leavens those serious themes with comical wordplay and a quirky dessert motif. The completely believable characters move us with their pain and dreams, making us root for them to the end. I highly recommend this fun, fast read. My review appeared in the "Datebook" section of the San Francisco Chronicle on October 30, 2007.

• The Seduction of Silence, by Bem Le Hunte
  

  Set in India, this bestselling novel about spirituality and families makes for rapt reading. My reviews appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and Persimmon. The Persimmon review appears here.

• Out, by Natsuo Kirino
  

  I reviewed this gripping Japanese mystery novel for the San Francisco Chronicle.

• The Inland Sea, by Donald Richie
  

  This is my all-time favorite book, about a man’s travels through an undeveloped part of Japan. I was delighted to review this work for the Hyde Park Review of Books.

• The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan
  

  This is a terrific collection by an outstanding, prolific writer. My reviews appeared in Persimmon, Rain Taxi Review of Books, and the East Bay Express. The Persimmon review appears here.

• Native American in the Land of the Shogun, by Frederik L. Schodt
  

  A Chinook from the Pacific Northwest enters Japan illegally in 1848. Find out more in my review for the San Francisco Chronicle.

• Fabulous Small Jews, by Joseph Epstein
  

  I reviewed this short-story collection for the San Francisco Chronicle.