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nicoleychi's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.25
I treated this book as fiction, after reading some posts about how a few things in this book seemed exaggerated. It took me a while to get through the book, but I did find it very interesting yet reiterated things I already knew. The most interesting part of the book was the Goto story, though it took a shorter part towards the end.
I ask appreciate Jake’s willingness to give homage to those who have helped him with his career, as well as putting light on victims in human trafficking. He made sure to give respect to these women, who were manipulated into this type of work.
I ask appreciate Jake’s willingness to give homage to those who have helped him with his career, as well as putting light on victims in human trafficking. He made sure to give respect to these women, who were manipulated into this type of work.
stephasaurous's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.0
dvg111591's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
booksnooksandcooks's review against another edition
2.5
I’ll admit, this was one of the first books I’ve read about Japanese culture and society. So I started off with a rough introduction.
I’m torn between two thoughts right now. One, I find that Adelstein’s depiction of Tokyo’s underworld to be both startling (compared to how I’ve seen Tokyo/Japanese culture depicted) and obvious (because of this history of Japan and the emphasis on sex in Japanese culture because wow, that is pervasive). On the other hand, I do struggle with the fact that this is coming from an American who is viewing all of this from a biased and, respectfully, patriarchal douchebag. So often he appears to justify or excuse his beliefs but, frankly, I’d probably throw a drink at him if I had a conversation with him in person. He definitely enjoys the shock value writing of a journalist.
Interesting book that has made me want to read more about Japan, but also ehhhh, probably wouldn’t recommend for others.
I’m torn between two thoughts right now. One, I find that Adelstein’s depiction of Tokyo’s underworld to be both startling (compared to how I’ve seen Tokyo/Japanese culture depicted) and obvious (because of this history of Japan and the emphasis on sex in Japanese culture because wow, that is pervasive). On the other hand, I do struggle with the fact that this is coming from an American who is viewing all of this from a biased and, respectfully, patriarchal douchebag. So often he appears to justify or excuse his beliefs but, frankly, I’d probably throw a drink at him if I had a conversation with him in person. He definitely enjoys the shock value writing of a journalist.
Interesting book that has made me want to read more about Japan, but also ehhhh, probably wouldn’t recommend for others.