Book Title: Japan Took the J.A.P. Out of Me
Author: Lisa Fineberg Cook
Release Date: Downtown Press, October 2009
Pages: 288
ISBN-10: 1439110034
ISBN-13: 9781439110034
Summary:
Six days after an InStyle-worthy wedding in Los Angeles, Lisa Fineberg Cook left behind her little red Jetta, her manicurist of ten years, and her very best friend for the land of the rising sun. When her husband accepted a job teaching English in Nagoya, Japan, she imagined exotic weekend getaways, fine sushi dinners, and sake sojourns with glamorous expatriate friends. Instead, she’s the only Jewish girl on public transportation, and everyone is staring. Lisa longs for regular mani/pedis, valet parking, and gimlets with her girlfriends, but for the next year, she learns to cook, clean, commute, and shop like the Japanese, all the while adjusting to another foreign concept — marriage. Loneliness and frustration give way to new and unexpected friendships, the evolution of old ones, and a fresh understanding of what it means to feel different — until finally a world she never thought she’d fit into begins to feel home-like, if not exactly like home.About the Author:
Lisa Fineberg Cook, a self-described Jewish American Princess from L.A., leaps at the chance for an exciting adventure when her brand-new husband’s brand-new job takes them to Japan a week after they’re wed.
My Thoughts:
“JAPAN TOOK THE J.A.P. OUT OF ME is a memoir” I told my daughter after she asked what I was reading. She then asked, “Is it the same like Memoirs of a Geisha?”
Well, not quite the same but they are both set in Japan. One is set decades ago and this one is more contemporary. Contemporary means now… present day time. They do have some themes in common though, like they are both women who move to a place away from home and both have to get used to doing things differently from what they are used to. Not only do they change their habits, they end up changing themselves. Plus, one is a drama while this one is more comedic. It’s actually quite funny.
“Mom, isn’t JAP supposed to be derogatory? Why is it on the title of your book?” Well, this meant something different. J.A.P. in this case means Jewish American Princess. See, it’s like she’s a rich girl then all of a sudden she moves to Japan with her husband and she doesn’t have the same luxuries that she’s used to at home and she has to learn how to fend for herself and in doing so she learns a totally foreign culture; and I think she becomes a better person for the experience.
“Yeah, people should try living in a foreign country for a while. They may learn to be better people”
The conversation above is with my twelve year old daughter who happened to come out to the backyard to sit with me while I was reading. I thought it would be a fun way to post this review 
If you’d like to see what other bloggers think of this book, check out the review from these blog tour participants:
The Life (And Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object
The Neverending Shelf
Drey’s Library
A Sea of Books
Libby’s Library News
Bookin’ With Bingo
Readaholic
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Just Another New Blog
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My Friend Amy
Chick With Books
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Keep on Booking
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I Read
Tags: book reviews, Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster
