The Sea of Japan

July 8, 2019
Cultures collide in this unsatisfying contemporary novel from Nagano (Rachel Assigned to Tokyo). Lindsey, an unhappy American, wants a new challenge, so she travels to Hime, a small fishing village in Japan, to teach English. Ichiro, a local fisherman, saves Lindsey from drowning and encourages her to learn more about Hime’s diminishing fishing industry. When tension at school surges, Lindsey quits her teaching job and gets a job on Ichiro’s boat. After learning that the town is at the brink of bankruptcy, she brainstorms ideas by visiting different fishing ports and creates a plan that could revitalize the economy, benefit everyone, and give her a new sense of purpose. But her plans are circumvented when a big corporation proposes a new deal with the governor, and Lindsey must figure out another way to save Hime. While Nagano portrays Japan with delightful prose, the fishing politics talk drags on. Lindsey’s unrealistic and convenient ability to succeed at everything she tries makes conflicts too easy to resolve, and there’s no escaping the discomfort of a white American saving the day while the locals look on admiringly. A lack of real character growth hamstrings this too-pat story.