Just plain wrong - Rated 
Lightweight nonsense.
Wrong about everything all the way through.
This is like "Lost in translation" in book form.
You'll get no insight into Japan from this. Avoid at all costs.
I wish I could give it no stars!
short, sweet and not too deep - Rated 
I read the other reviews and found them rather harsh. Yes, it is a fast read, no it doesn't go into massive depth but it isn't glib and Carey wears his ignorance on his sleeve, as the title implies.
I don't think Carey's son is spoilt, he comes across as a rather sweet typical teen - it is an interesting quick snap of a father's journey with his boy to a culture they are trying, and failing to understand.
I imagine if you already know a lot about Japanese culture this book isn't for you but for the rest of us it is an enjoyable and easy introduction.
I read it cover to cover and really enjoyed it.
"Enter[ing] the mansion of Japanese culture through its garish, brightly lit back door." - Rated 
When Charley, the twelve-year-old son of Booker Prize-winning author Peter Carey, announces that someday he wants to live in Japan, Carey decides the time is right for a father-son trip to Tokyo. Charley is a passionate fan of Japanese manga and anime film, and he has recently become an internet friend of Takashi, a fifteen-year-old Japanese "visualist" who is as committed to these arts as Charley--and who plans to to meet him in Tokyo. As Charley goes to Japan to experience the youthful cartoon culture (making his father promise that there will be no museums or temples on their itinerary), Peter Carey goes to Japan full of expectations and preconceived ideas for a book--most of which, he tells us in the title, prove to be wrong.
Using contacts made by his literary agent in Tokyo, Carey sets up appointments for himself and Charley to meet some of the great Japanese directors, authors, anime creators, and traditional artists (including a sword-maker, a sculptor, an architect). Charley, on the other hand, sets up meetings with Takashi for Sega World in Akihabara--"Electric Town"--the gaudy, neon shopping area filled with electronic magic--robots, video games, miniaturized washing machines, solar-powered pogo sticks, and wild new inventions to meet needs you didn't know you had.
As Carey works to see connections between manga illustrations and old ukiyoe prints, he also looks at the heroes of manga and anime to see if they connect with the samurai tradition and the bushido code of honor. He examines contemporary Japanese culture for echoes of the A-bomb, the firebombing of Tokyo, and the American occupation, hoping to discover "the way a proud and isolated society has waged war, suffered war, and emerged from war." And he discovers that in almost every case he is wrong in his assumptions.
A charming story of a father's attempt to connect with his son, the book provides a very basic introduction to manga, anime, and contemporary Japanese film, along with brief notations about the history of Japanese cultural traditions. Not a book for the already committed fan of manga and anime or a student already familiar with Japanese culture, the book, nevertheless, provides some fascinating glimpses into the lives of the Japanese creators of film and other arts. An excellent, easy introduction to some aspects of Japan which tourists may find helpful, the book's biggest limitation is that while Carey admits that his assumptions are wrong, he does not leave the reader with any other useful framework for better understanding this fascinating culture. Mary Whipple
Wrong About Japan Review - Rated
To really appreciate this book you have to enjoy the classic anime and manga. The story is of the author, Peter Carrey and his son Charley going on a trip to Japan. Having read this book and gone on a holiday to New York afterwards(im soooo lucky), i found out that i had been in the same Forbidden Planet as Charley had got his manga from (though i could not find any when i went there >.>). The book is probally aimed at the older generation or young adults. Inside the book there are a few pages from random mangas and small sketches. If you want to know more about the famous creators behind mangas and animes then this is the book for you.
Hmmm - Rated
I'm not sure what to think of this book. I read an article about Carey's trip by Carey in the Guardian and was so horrified about what he was saying I refused to read the actual book, but when my grandfather bought it for me I thought 'What the heck'.
It's basically about a guy who likes to think his opinions are 'insightful' and 'correct' who's taken his spoilt brat of a son to Tokyo for the week. But, despite this I couldn't tear myself away from it. I suppose its my obsession with Manga and all things japanese that kept me going, but Carey's writing style can also be rather attractive at times. Some of the things written (though none of it is in the detail required: The interviews were mostly pointless), are very interesting, and the chapter on the firebombing of Tokyo I found very worthwhile. Yet hearing about his son Charley playing on his mobile all week and turning his nose up at everything, while his father is arranging interviews with the likes of Miyazaki and the creator of Gundam truly made me feel sick. Some of us would do anything to just go to Japan never mind actually meet the man behind films like Spirited Away!
I went to Japan for only 3 days on the way back from another holiday, yet feel I got alot more insight on Japan in those days than Charley can ever comprehend.
If the author's son could just try and appreciate the amazing experience he's had I would reccomend this book to many a person.
|
