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ENTRY

Review: Love in Translation
June 22, 2010

Love in Translation
Wendy Nelson Tokunaga

Set in Japan, Love in Translation is a pitch-perfect, cross-cultural romantic comedy that ends with dramatic discovery of identity. Celeste Duncan, a young American woman, is adrift in a dead-end relationship with her boyfriend, Dirk, and an even more dead-end career as a technical editor. When her Aunt Michiko “Mitch” Taniguchi dies, Celeste, as the sole surviving family, receives a box containing her ashes and mysterious family heirlooms. The collection add up to clues possibly identifying Celeste’s father whom she doesn’t know.

The clues lead her to Japan, oddly so, because Celeste doesn’t look Japanese. And Aunt Mitch her Japanese aunt was only her aunt because she married her mother’s brother. Celeste grew up knowing nothing about Japan except a memory of Aunt Mitch singing Japanese songs. The most important clue is only an old picture and a name: Hiromi Taniguchi, Aunt Mitch’s sister.

In Japan, Celeste finds a home-stay family, the Kubotas. Mrs. Kubota exchanges a room for English lessons. Soon after she moves in, the story’s love interest arrives from America: the Kubotas’ handsome son, Takuya. Celeste is immediately smitten with him. Of course, Mrs. Kubuta has a nice Japanese woman in mind for her son, plus he seems to have other women in his life.

Celeste is struggling with the cultural and language differences, and to find Aunt Mitch’s sister, she decides she needs to learn Japanese. She meets a teacher, Mariko, a Japanese woman who lived in America and from her prodigious use of four-letter words apparently learned her English in a rough bar. Mariko is great comedy relief but doesn’t teach very well.

The only thing that seems to come easily for Celeste is singing “enka” – old-fashioned, heart-rending songs. In particular, she can sing “Nozomi no Hoshi” (“The Wishing Star”) as well as professional singers. Her ability lands her on a “gaijin” (“foreigner”) talent show, designed to make fun of the gaijin more than showcase their talent. The feisty host of the show, Sakura Sasaki, turns out to be one of Takuya’s prior love interests, adding to the conflicts. All of these storylines come together in a surprise and touching ending.

While there are many books set in Japan that dwell on the oddities of Japanese culture, Wendy Tokunaga does a masterful job of poking gentle fun at them through Japan-newbie Celeste. For those of us who have personally experienced them, we can laugh out-loud at the memories they evoke. Having read so many serious books recently on the dark side of Japan, Love is Translation was a pleasure. By the way, Wendy Tokunaga also sings, and has recorded her version of “Nozomi no Hoshi.” To hear it, visit her website at www.wendytokunaga.com.

© 2010

COMMENTS

Number of comments: 3
click here to add a comment

Lee Witte
Sounds like a fun read, I'll get it.

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
Thanks so much, Todd!

Gail
I'll check it out too.

ARCHIVE

date (comments)

Review: Kissing the Mask
August 22, 2010 (1)

Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins
July 12, 2010 (2)

Review: Love in Translation
June 22, 2010 (3)

Jose Saramago
June 18, 2010 (0)

Marketplace of Ideas interview
June 11, 2010 (2)

Imagining Memory
May 6, 2010 (1)

Upcoming Los Angeles events
April 7, 2010 (2)

Time and energy
March 30, 2010 (2)

Review: Botchan
February 28, 2010 (2)

J.D. Salinger
January 28, 2010 (1)

2009 Reviewed
December 31, 2009 (5)

Review: The Word Book
December 12, 2009 (1)

Chaat and Chat event with OH!
November 6, 2009 (2)

Home at last
November 2, 2009 (2)

Los Angeles events
October 17, 2009 (1)

Poets and poetry
October 7, 2009 (1)

Time + place
September 24, 2009 (1)

The future of books
September 23, 2009 (1)

October book tour
September 6, 2009 (1)

Blogging at Powell's Books
August 28, 2009 (2)

The evolution of an idea
August 3, 2009 (1)

The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey
July 9, 2009 (2)

Tour debrief
July 2, 2009 (3)

Book tour events
May 18, 2009 (3)

Simply in the mood
April 24, 2009 (2)

Book tour
April 8, 2009 (6)

The Necessary Book
March 2, 2009 (2)

"Murder Makes the Magazine"
February 7, 2009 (3)

John Updike
January 27, 2009 (2)

2008 misc. (good news, bad news)
January 1, 2009 (3)

Publishing woes and query letters
December 13, 2008 (4)

Punctuation compunction
November 16, 2008 (3)

The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas)
October 10, 2008 (2)

David Foster Wallace
September 14, 2008 (2)

Ending it all
September 12, 2008 (2)

The mystery of plotting, the plotting of mysteries
August 29, 2008 (3)

Blocking out the block
August 20, 2008 (3)

"What kind of books do you write?"
August 8, 2008 (2)

Theory of Satisfaction: Part 4
July 21, 2008 (3)

Show and tell
July 14, 2008 (3)

Theory of Satisfaction: Part 3
July 7, 2008 (7)

Advice for first-time writers (Barry Gifford and me)
June 30, 2008 (6)

Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2
June 18, 2008 (3)

To be or not to be
June 10, 2008 (6)

Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1
June 3, 2008 (6)

Virtual unreality
May 31, 2008 (4)

The purpose of this blog
May 21, 2008 (5)

Todd Shimoda's Writer's Blog home \| current \| forthcoming \| past \| contact
ENTRY Review: Love in Translation June 22, 2010 Love in Translation Wendy Nelson Tokunaga Set in Japan, Love in Translation is a pitch-perfect, cross-cultural romantic comedy that ends with dramatic discovery of identity. Celeste Duncan, a young American woman, is adrift in a dead-end relationship with her boyfriend, Dirk, and an even more dead-end career as a technical editor. When her Aunt Michiko “Mitch” Taniguchi dies, Celeste, as the sole surviving family, receives a box containing her ashes and mysterious family heirlooms. The collection add up to clues possibly identifying Celeste’s father whom she doesn’t know. The clues lead her to Japan, oddly so, because Celeste doesn’t look Japanese. And Aunt Mitch her Japanese aunt was only her aunt because she married her mother’s brother. Celeste grew up knowing nothing about Japan except a memory of Aunt Mitch singing Japanese songs. The most important clue is only an old picture and a name: Hiromi Taniguchi, Aunt Mitch’s sister. In Japan, Celeste finds a home-stay family, the Kubotas. Mrs. Kubota exchanges a room for English lessons. Soon after she moves in, the story’s love interest arrives from America: the Kubotas’ handsome son, Takuya. Celeste is immediately smitten with him. Of course, Mrs. Kubuta has a nice Japanese woman in mind for her son, plus he seems to have other women in his life. Celeste is struggling with the cultural and language differences, and to find Aunt Mitch’s sister, she decides she needs to learn Japanese. She meets a teacher, Mariko, a Japanese woman who lived in America and from her prodigious use of four-letter words apparently learned her English in a rough bar. Mariko is great comedy relief but doesn’t teach very well. The only thing that seems to come easily for Celeste is singing “enka” – old-fashioned, heart-rending songs. In particular, she can sing “Nozomi no Hoshi” (“The Wishing Star”) as well as professional singers. Her ability lands her on a “gaijin” (“foreigner”) talent show, designed to make fun of the gaijin more than showcase their talent. The feisty host of the show, Sakura Sasaki, turns out to be one of Takuya’s prior love interests, adding to the conflicts. All of these storylines come together in a surprise and touching ending. While there are many books set in Japan that dwell on the oddities of Japanese culture, Wendy Tokunaga does a masterful job of poking gentle fun at them through Japan-newbie Celeste. For those of us who have personally experienced them, we can laugh out-loud at the memories they evoke. Having read so many serious books recently on the dark side of Japan, Love is Translation was a pleasure. By the way, Wendy Tokunaga also sings, and has recorded her version of “Nozomi no Hoshi.” To hear it, visit her website at www.wendytokunaga.com. © 2010	COMMENTS Number of comments: 3 click here to add a comment Lee Witte Sounds like a fun read, I'll get it. Wendy Nelson Tokunaga Thanks so much, Todd! Gail I'll check it out too.	ARCHIVE date (comments) Review: Kissing the Mask August 22, 2010 (1) Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins July 12, 2010 (2) Review: Love in Translation June 22, 2010 (3) Jose Saramago June 18, 2010 (0) Marketplace of Ideas interview June 11, 2010 (2) Imagining Memory May 6, 2010 (1) Upcoming Los Angeles events April 7, 2010 (2) Time and energy March 30, 2010 (2) Review: Botchan February 28, 2010 (2) J.D. Salinger January 28, 2010 (1) 2009 Reviewed December 31, 2009 (5) Review: The Word Book December 12, 2009 (1) Chaat and Chat event with OH! November 6, 2009 (2) Home at last November 2, 2009 (2) Los Angeles events October 17, 2009 (1) Poets and poetry October 7, 2009 (1) Time + place September 24, 2009 (1) The future of books September 23, 2009 (1) October book tour September 6, 2009 (1) Blogging at Powell's Books August 28, 2009 (2) The evolution of an idea August 3, 2009 (1) The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey July 9, 2009 (2) Tour debrief July 2, 2009 (3) Book tour events May 18, 2009 (3) Simply in the mood April 24, 2009 (2) Book tour April 8, 2009 (6) The Necessary Book March 2, 2009 (2) "Murder Makes the Magazine" February 7, 2009 (3) John Updike January 27, 2009 (2) 2008 misc. (good news, bad news) January 1, 2009 (3) Publishing woes and query letters December 13, 2008 (4) Punctuation compunction November 16, 2008 (3) The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas) October 10, 2008 (2) David Foster Wallace September 14, 2008 (2) Ending it all September 12, 2008 (2) The mystery of plotting, the plotting of mysteries August 29, 2008 (3) Blocking out the block August 20, 2008 (3) "What kind of books do you write?" August 8, 2008 (2) Theory of Satisfaction: Part 4 July 21, 2008 (3) Show and tell July 14, 2008 (3) Theory of Satisfaction: Part 3 July 7, 2008 (7) Advice for first-time writers (Barry Gifford and me) June 30, 2008 (6) Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2 June 18, 2008 (3) To be or not to be June 10, 2008 (6) Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1 June 3, 2008 (6) Virtual unreality May 31, 2008 (4) The purpose of this blog May 21, 2008 (5)