December 6

Starred review from August 5, 2002
A tinted review in adult Forecasts indicates a book that's of exceptional importance to our readers but hasn't received a starred or boxed review. DECEMBER 6 Martin Cruz Smith. Simon & Schuster, $26 (352p) ISBN 0-684-87253-6 Smith hits on a clever historical conceit here, rolling back events one day before Pearl Harbor and setting his story not in the United States, but in Japan. For Smith, the foreign locale is a given, yet similarities to his previous crime-based novels (Gorky Park; Rose) stop there. This is not only a meaty character study of American Harry Niles, but also a piercing examination of Japanese culture during the years leading up to WWII. The only child of Baptist missionaries, Niles grew up on the streets of Tokyo, but as a gaijin, he's always been treated as an outsider. He's a slippery sort. He owns a nightclub, the Happy Paris, yet spends most of his time in more shadowy pursuits—con games, gambling, possibly even a little espionage. But one thing is clear: he loves Japan and is convinced that the country will doom itself if it provokes a fight with the U.S. He says so loudly and publicly, and his outspokenness quickly marks him as a troublemaker. As the bombing of Hawaii begins, Harry becomes a man on the run. Smith's plot, meandering at first, steadily gains focus. Enriched by cameos of historical figures, it builds to a powerful climax. All the while, Harry is surrounded by several well-drawn secondary characters who illustrate the chasm between the two cultures—his prickly "Modern Girl" lover, Michiko; the tradition-bound samurai, General Ishigami; and a host of stolid American and Japanese officials who have no idea what hell lies ahead. The plot slips a few too many times into distracting flashbacks, yet Smith's narrative rarely strays from its mesmerizing evocation of time and place. Agent, Knox Burger. (Oct. 1)Forecast:While it offers less action and intrigue than Smith's usual fare, this should do well on the basis of Smith's reputation, and then via word of mouth, aided by a 10-city author tour, which could even widen his audience.

June 15, 2002
You guessed it; Smith's new work concerns the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In the days before the event, an American con man in Tokyo senses that he had better quit the city fast.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2003
Adult/High School-In early December, 1941, Harry Niles runs his nightclub, Happy Paris, in Tokyo's Asakuza district, keeps a mistress, and makes plans to escape from Japan with the British ambassador's wife. His departure is complicated by the Japanese, who consider him a spy and arrest him several times; the British and Americans, who deny him any help; and a Japanese soldier who wants him dead. He manages to elude most of his problems, narrowly escaping only to discover that he is trapped in Japan on December 7. Smith vividly conjures up the beauty of the country and the ugliness in people. Along with clear descriptions of locations, he creates realistic pictures of a distinct time and place. While the protagonist is the most fully developed, the secondary characters, as well as those who play far lesser roles, quickly take on distinct personalities and attributes. The book has flashbacks of Niles growing up in Japan as a mistreated and neglected son of American missionaries. As the plot progresses, his background helps to explain his attitude toward Japan, the imminent war, his relationships with two lovers, and his love of gambling against the odds. Since the story takes place over three days, the events move quickly and the plot is tightly woven together. The result is a historical thriller brimming with action, odd characters, and an ending well worth the read.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2002
When Smith chooses a place to write about, he makes it his own. Cold war Moscow in " Gorky Park," contemporary Cuba in " Havana Bay," and now Japan on the eve of Pearl Harbor--our sense of these places and historical moments are forever vivified after Smith lays claim on them. What was Tokyo like on the day before the day that shall live in infamy? Ask Harry Niles, a nightclub owner in Tokyo's Asakuza district, where West and East meet in the pursuit of pleasure ("Life-size posters of samurai stood between cardboard cut-outs of Clark Gable and Mickey Mouse"). Considered "too Japanese" by his missionary parents and fellow Westerners and a spy by the Japanese, Harry has a plan to trick the Imperial Navy into not attacking the U.S. His goal isn't to save the world for democracy but, rather, to save his own brand of multicultural hedonism in a place he loves. But he has an out clause--a ticket on board the last plane to leave Japan for the West. If Harry boards that plane, he must leave behind Michiko, his Japanese mistress, with whom he is entangled in a relationship far more complex than either will admit. Complicating matters further is a disturbed latter-day samurai who would like nothing better than to separate Harry's head from his body. This is a superb thriller and a remarkable evocation of a place." "Smith cleverly plays with his readers' shared knowledge of historical events, breaking down common assumptions and providing texture instead of stereotypes. Best of all, he tells a moving, believable love story in which individual lives are invested with great dignity, even in the face of national ideals. "Well, it may be petty of me," Harry declares, "but I still want to come out of this war alive."(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)