 |
- General fiction - |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
In the Empire of Dreams |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I n the Empire of Dreams byDianne Highbridge Soho Press 248 pages, May 2000 ISBN 1569471908 Reviewed by Morgan Ann Adams With a delightful mixture of honesty and wonder, Dianne Highbridge writes of expatriates in Japan. Each chapter is its own story, usually sharing only one character from a previous chapter. The stories are primarily from a female point of view, focusing on the cultural difficulties many foreign women (and Japanese women who do not fit the tight mold) find in Japan. The individual stories are a cornucopia of experiences ranging from traumatic to blissful. Liz, for example, is a serious American student on scholarship to study in Japan. Her thoughts are strictly focused on study. Though generally a sullen and troubled young woman, Liz marries a Japanese man and fits quite snugly into the role of Japanese wife. Liz's friend, Cathy, is an Australian student also in Japan to complete her studies. Months stretch into years as Cathy becomes absorbed in pottery and Japanese men. Neither girl finds what she came to Japan for. Instead, both realize what they want and what they need are two separate things. These stories have the feeling of fables or fairy tales. In the end, there is some kind of moral or lesson, though it is not always comforting. Highbridge allows the complicated Japanese culture to come alive with vivid detail and compassionate, intimate understanding. The setting is so vibrant it becomes a character, motivating and changing the lives of these expatriates. Highbridge has captured the mix of excitement and terror that courses through people who have no home. Every story contained in this novel is compelling and thought provoking. This book should not be confused with a normal collection of short stories by one author. These stories are deliberately and consciously put in this order with these events. Both Liz and Cathy's characters appear in stories where they are not the main focus. There is a common thread of understanding, connecting each tale to the others. To my dismay, there is a strong theme of adultery which at times grew trite. I began to crave a wider variety of human experience while reading. In fact the Empire of Dreams, that appears in the title, is a "love hotel" where couples go when they cannot return home to be together. Having said this, the sexual theme is a strong bond holding the stories together. It creates a primal, often exciting feeling to the book. In the Empire of Dreams is an excellent entrance into the Japanese culture. Experiences of these gaijin (non-Japanese living in Japan) are as varied as their lessons learned. To read this book is to feel yourself among the cherry blossoms or drinking sake in a dark tavern and to know you will always be different from those around you. Highbridge translates these feelings with subtlety and experience. This is a book worth savoring, not simply reading. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||