Title: Very Strange
Product review: I really don't know what people see in this novel. Personally, I feel like I was rip-offed by Random House. I've lived in Japan and studied Japanese culture, so I think I know what I'm talking about. Once you get past the bad writing, the weird characters, and the strange plot, what really hits you, if you know anything about Japan, is how false both historically and culturally this novel really is. The author may be Japanese, but he knows little about mid-19th century Japan, and even less about the late Tokugawa cultural landscape. For the life of me, I can't imagine how this novel ever got published. There had to be a bribe or pay-off somewhere.
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