Losing Kei

November 19, 2007
Pushcart Prize–nominee Kamata follows an American woman out of her depth in Japan in this thin debut novel. Young South Carolina painter Jill Parker flees to Japan after a breakup in the late '80s, hoping to pursue the life and work of Blondelle Malone, a late–19th-century South Carolina artist who had also ventured to Japan for inspiration. After a stint in Tokyo, and knowing some Japanese, Jill ensconces herself in comfortable anonymity on the island of Shikoku, where there are few foreigners, save the surfer Eric, who gets her a job as a hostess at the seedy Cha Cha Club. At a gallery opening, Jill meets gallery owner Yusuke Yamashiro; he offers her a show and they soon marry. Before they do, the demands of a traditional Japanese marriage are clear to Jill, who has lived in Japan long enough to have her eyes wide open. After living with icy Yusuke and his critical mother, and giving birth to a boy, Kei, Jill ceases to paint and finds her sense of self dissolving. She plans her divorce and attempts to flee the country with her son, but is thwarted and threatened by Yusuke. In alternating chapters, set in the late '80s and late '90s, Jill spies on Kei, spiraling into self-pity and alcohol abuse, yet it's hard to feel sympathy for her self-perpetuated plight. Vivid atmosphere and characterization make one wish for a tighter plot.

November 15, 2007
The post-divorce custody battle gets an international twist in Kamatas debut novel set in Japan, where American Jill Parker travels on an artists fellowship. Eschewing the hip and touristy Tokyo art scene, she settles down in a small coastal village where few speak English, and sightings of Americans are rare. She meets and falls in love with Yusuke, a dashing gallery owner who arranges her first art show. Only after they elope, and return to his parents home to live, does Jill realize the consequences of her hasty decision. She is expected to live the life of a traditional Japanese wife, including predawn laundry chores and daylong cooking rituals. Jill struggles with her domineering mother-in-law and Yusukes increasingly rigid behavior after his father dies. The birth of their son Kei fails to solidify their disintegrating relationship, and after six years, Jill seeks a divorce. In Japan, that means losing her son, since he is the heir of the house of Yamashiro. Kamatas is an intriguing look into one womans experience with a culture very different from her own.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)