A book about life (and love) in Japan

For those who may be interested, the translation warrior would like to recommend a book whose story is set in the Japan of the late Showa era (about the mid- to late eighties). Called The Beach Girl, the story depicts the day-to-day life of a Japanese-proficient expat in it for the long haul who is on the verge of entering into an unexpected relationship. And she is a sassy one, that’s for sure.

Portraying the “ordinary” (if such a word can be used to describe anything in Japan), the story avoids clichéd Asian ploys for the westerner’s attention and rejects the sensationalism of the exotic. The translation warrior assures his readers that Japan is an exotic and adventurous enough place without devices like these. This story has adult situations, but maybe that is only natural considering the youthful passionate pursuits of the characters. The protagonist does find himself in a fairly unusual situation, one in which he is poised to learn a lot, if he can stay with it. He is torn and must figure out what to do.

How much the protagonist can speak Japanese is also an interesting topic. He is not 100% fluent like a native speaker, but gets by pretty well with what he knows. Most of the dialogue could be translated into fairly straight-forward Japanese. It might be difficult to find equivalents for a small portion of it, making it a challenge for a translator. Of course, he understands much more than he himself can say, but this is typical of a second language.

Here is the link:

The Beach Girl