Blurb:
In 2002, twice Booker-winning author Peter Carey travelled to Japan, accompanied by his twelve-year old son Charley, on a special kind of pilgrimage.
In a stunning memoir-cum-travelogue Peter Carey charts this journey, inspired by Charley's passion for Japanese Manga and anime, and explores his own resulting re-evaluation of Japan. Although graphically violent and disturbing, the two mediums are both inherently concerned with Japan's rich history and heritage, and hold a huge popular appeal that crosses the generations.
Led by their adolescent guide Takashi, an uncanny mix of generosity and derision, father and son look for the hidden puzzles and meanings, searching, often with comic results, for a greater understanding of these art forms, and for what they come to refer to as their own 'real Japan'. From Manhattan to Tokyo, Commodore Perry to Godzilla, kabuki theatre to the post-war robot craze, "Wrong about Japan" is a personal, witty and moving exploration of two very different cultures.

Birthday Surprise!

This book is well picked! I didn't have it on my wishlist but only because I didn't know about it. If I had heard anout it, it certainly would have been on there. Can't wait to read it. Thank you.
Now to register that big pile of books I have under my desk with my new book labels..... :D

This was a very quick peak into the world of manga and anime in Japan.

After Peter discovers his son's love of manga and finds it's something that he also enjoys, he suggests a trip to Japan. His son insists they don't see any 'real Japan' and by doing this, they don't seem to see an awful lot.

Peter talks more about the various plots of manga he likes, they interview a couple of people. Try to get them to answer questions, and don't really get any straight answers. They accidentally offend a boy that his son met on the internet and thats about it really.

The best chapter was when he talks about the things the Japanese see in 'My Neighbour Totoro' which we don't necessarily pick up on. Overall this was okay but I'm sure there are better books about Japan out there.

Happy Reading :)

This has arrived safely in Kathmandu -- and it really really looks like my kind of book, thank you redfox5! In fact, I've already started reading it. It's an interesting coincidence that it was first registered by ApoloniaX, who is now living in Nepal and whom I see quite often - it's a small world!

A fast read that I really enjoyed, and I am now curious to read something else by Peter Carey—ie, his fiction—to see how it compares side by side. I found him rather honest and self-deprecating, though at times annoying in his repetitious questions that he asks people, though he himself acknowledges that at the end. At times I wondered if he would have seen more of the “real Japan” if he had been a bit more flexible with his schedule. I am glad that he didn’t prevent his son from carrying out the act of kindness he performed at the end of the book; it was so sweet.

This book showed me how difficult it really is to understand another culture as a foreigner—I often do the same in Nepal, asking “why, why” to everything. Sometimes we can only observe and not really expect to fully ever know. We can enjoy what we do understand, but sometimes, as the author does, we try to ascribe too much meaning to things, or overly read into things that are just meant to be enjoyed and assimilated.

Chapter 5, about the lesser-known US firebombings in Japan, was poignant and sad, and is something that I think should be widely read, as it is a valuable and rare English translation of an oral history that not many outside Japan are aware of--at least I know I wasn't aware enough. I’m glad the author let Mr. Yazaki’s words speak for themselves. Even if you are not interested in manga or anime, this book should be read for this story alone. And it’s a quick book to read, too.

This is, to date, my favourite of the books I received in the inaugural Non-Fiction Sweepstake. Of course, I haven't read all the books that I got yet, so that may change, but as of now, it is. A great, fun read that I sped through quickly, and I want to pass it on. So I am sending it as an extra surprise to the decoy in the second round of the Non-Fiction Sweeps. Hope you enjoy it!

Release #5 in the 2017 KTM Challenge.

And indeed, it has been a nice surprise!
Thanks for sending me this book: all previous readers seem to have enjoyed it, and it makes it extra-special, so thanks for your generosity.
I love the doggy card as well... thank you!! :)

Reserved for Icila; I tagged her with it.

Sent to Icila; I tagged her with this WishList book, and he travels with a companion. :)
Travel safely, little books!

The companions arrived safely in my mailbox. Thank you !

Japan as a place visited by Westerners with cultural "prejudices" about "what" the Japanese culture means and obsessed with "finding a meaning" behind all sorts of cultural icons (such as manga, anime, etc.) - just to discover that whatever "meaning" there may be, will not be the one projected by the Western visitor.
Perfect "manga for dummies" though. 😀
I just learnt that France was second after Japan for the manga market.