Meeting Luciano

March 29, 1999
The author's confident if quiet voice gives credence to this polished, gentle first novel. When Japanese-American Emily Shimoda finishes college, she moves into her mother's house in Westchester County, N.Y., resuming her old waitressing job at a Japanese restaurant while deciding what to do with her life. Emily is worried that her mother, Hanako, recently divorced by Emily's father, is becoming more and more eccentric. An avid opera fan and Europhile, the cosmopolitan Hanako has decided to renovate her house because she believes with unwavering certainty that opera star Luciano Pavarotti is coming for a visit. Moreover, Hanako seems to be too trusting of the hearty Greek-American contractor, Alex, who aggressively inflates the home improvements, arousing Emily's suspicions and leaving her baffled at her mother's naive allegiance to this take-charge stranger. Under Alex's gaze and through the regenerative enterprise, Hanako blooms, however, taking stock of her newly reimagined life. Will Pavarotti actually show up? The answer to this question is delightfully unexpected, as the novel gracefully explores Emily's past and present to suggest that it is Emily, not her mother, with the identity crisis. Hanako, in her carefully controlled English, has fed her daughter colorful stories of growing up in Japan while making it clear that Emily and her siblings were expected to be fully assimilated Americans. This contradiction has rendered Emily obstinate and confused, "a frowning girl." Emily is at times too analytical and detached, almost infuriatingly so, and her nostalgia for an old college boyfriend is a bit forced. Nevertheless, her fraught relationship with her mother is heartfelt and complicated; when she tries to dismiss her concerns about her mother's possible disappointment, she finds she can't. As Emily learns to see her ethnic identity clearly, Esaki-Smith delineates her heroine's maturation as a blend of personal choices, proud heritage and self-exploration.

February 15, 1999
Esaki-Smith's first novel is the delightful, humorous story of Emily, a recent college graduate who has returned home to live with her divorced mother, Hanako. Besides continuing her obsession for European things, especially Italian cooking, opera, and espresso, the Japanese-born Hanako has begun renovating the family home. To Emily's surprise, Hanako has pursued the renovation because she believes her hero, Luciano Pavarotti, is coming to visit. Eventually, Emily must come to terms not only with the fantasies and frailties of her mother but also with her own disappointments and fears. She must also deal with Hanako's odd friendship with Alex, the contractor whom she has hired to redo the house. Esaki-Smith's well-developed debut novel demonstrates great potential. Recommended for large fiction collections.--Faye A. Chadwell, Univ. of Oregon Libs., Eugene

April 15, 1999
Alone together for the first time, a mother and daughter grapple with the timeless filial issues of love, respect, and personal boundaries. After graduating from college without a plan for her future, Emily Shimoda convinces herself that she is moving back home to keep her recently divorced mother company. Her mother, however, seems to have adjusted to her new status more effortlessly than Emily. Instead of dwelling on the past, Hanako Shimoda, a Japanese-born American with European affections, undertakes an elaborate home-remodeling project, develops a delightfully quirky relationship with her inadequately skilled contractor, and continues to obsess about her idol, opera star Luciano Pavarotti. Lacking any direction in her own life, Emily worries excessively about her mother's seeming lack of judgment and common sense. When Emily learns that Hanako has invited Pavarotti to their house for dinner, she fears that her mother has finally lost touch with reality. Though humorously drawn, Esaki-Smith's novel never ridicules her slightly eccentric characters, presenting all their deliciously human faults and foibles in a warmly sympathetic manner. ((Reviewed April 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)