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FLOATING GIRL, THE
by Sujata Massey
Avon, July 2001
320 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 0061097357


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Rei Shimura, now in her fourth appearance in this series, gets more interesting, and smarter, with every book. The experiences of Shimura, a Japanese-American woman living in Japan, have been a fascinating insight into various cultures and attitudes. I've been impatient with the character until now, because she has had the worst taste in men and I've despaired.

In The Floating Girl, Rei Shimura introduces readers to the complex world of Japanese manga, a unique comic world in Japan. I know a very small amount about comics intended for adults, as I live with a cartoonist who is a knowledgeable collector of comic art. Manga well, it's just different. There are things that would never appear in American comics, and at other times, well, it's a new world for most of us. Rei has help in understanding these works from boyfriend Takeo Kayama, who replaces the annoying boyfriend in her life. Takeo tries to show Rei what the various comics mean, from ones focusing on gardening and history to superhero adventures, how the sexual references and sometimes sexual stories reflect different values from Rei's modern California upbringing (but, no matter how Takeo explains it, Rei, like me, refuses to find rape fantasies in manga acceptable). In fact, many issues of sexuality and sexual behavior are examined in Floating Girl and lead to yet another avenue of interest and understanding as Rei helps readers understand some of Japanese culture. There is much to understand; from the manga to the strip clubs where men dance "the naughty Windsor" dance for young women holding a pre-wedding party. It's not so much that the clubs exist of course (remembering the Chippendales and having just watched "The Full Monty" on television recently) but the openness with which certain issues are discussed and others are forbidden serves to remind me about the different cultures in the story.

From page one, we see how Rei is seen as non-Japanese by the native-born Japanese - lectured about her behavior. She's drifted from job to job in Japan, and has lucked out in getting a spot writing a monthly column for Gaijin Times a magazine aimed at foreigners, written in English. The magazine's owner, who sees little problem with reviews which boost advertisers' restaurants, wants to convert his magazine to the more popular manga format. They have clubs for this at universities in Japan; and according to Mr. Sanno, forty percent of all Japanese written material sold is comics. There is also, (not surprising to me, as a long-time fan of science fiction who has seen fan-fiction, crossover fiction and fan art for decades), a fandom of amateur artists who copy their favorite characters and publish their own manga.

Rei is hoping to keep her job, so she tries to understand the history and significance of manga and in doing so, discovers a breathtakingly good artist at work. In trying to track down this elusive person, she meets his next door neighbor who ends up dead.

Massey misses sometimes; some of her non-Japanese characters border on parody - like Alec, the randy, incredibly rude Australian at the newspaper. He's just a little too broadly painted. But in portraying a modern young Japanese-American in Japan today, she offers a lot to think about, and a suspenseful story to accompany all the information.

Editor's note: This review is based on the hard cover edition which is now out of print.

Reviewed by Andi Shechter, June 2000

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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