Synopses & Reviews
Amy Yamada is one of the most prominent--and controversial--novelists in Japan today. She bursted onto the scene in 1985 with her short novel "Bedtime Eyes," which for critics embodied the spirit of the 'shinjinru'--i.e. Generation X-- in much the same way that Less Than Zero, Bright Lights, Big City, and Douglas Coupland did in the U.S. Bedtime Eyes is the first English-language publication of three of Yamada's novellas/short novels: "Bedtime Eyes," "The Piano Player's Fingers" and "Jesse." While all are centered around the relationship between a Japanese woman and a black American man, each explores love, sex, and the vast gulf between from different and equally revealing viewpoints. Starkly imagined and sharply observed, Bedtime Eyes introduces to the English language some of Yamada's best known and most influential work. Amy Yamada is the author of more than twenty books of fiction and nonfiction. One of the most popular authors in Japan, Yamada is the winner of the Bungei Prize (for "Bedtime Eyes") and the Naoki Prize. Bedtime Eyes is her second book, following Trash, to be published in the United States. She lives outside Tokyo, Japan. Bedtime Eyes is the first English-language publication of three of Yamada's short novellas:" Bedtime Eyes," "The Piano Player's Finger," and "Jesse." Thematically linked, each involves the relationship between a Japanese woman and an African-American man, exploring love, sex, the search for true communication, and the vast gulf that separates the characters' different, yet equally revealing viewpoints. Starkly imagined and sharply observed, Bedtime Eyes introduces some of the most powerful and influential work by one of Japan's most exciting contemporary writers. "Yamada (Trash), winner of the Naoki Prize, Japan's equivalent of the Pulitzer, has become a prominent and controversial force in Japanese literature. Her powerful voice is introduced to a wider audience with the first English-language publication of these three novellas, which focus on relationships between Japanese women and black American men. The stories are stark in their realism and the obsessive and irrational sexuality of the relationships she explores pulls the reader into the emotional conflicts that make these characters and their actions unforgettable. 'Bedtime Eyes,' 'The Piano Player's Fingers,' and 'Jesse' examine the dynamics of love, betrayal, and racial divide. Sexually charged and disturbing, this collection is a fitting companion to the work of American Gen-X writers like Bret Easton Ellis (Less Than Zero) and Jay McInerney (Bright Lights, Big City). Yamada won the prestigious Bungei Prize for Bedtime Eyes, first published as a short novel in 1985. A significant title for academic libraries."Ronald Samul, Library Journal "Originally published in Japan in the mid-1980s (before Trash), the three novellas in this harsh, vivid collection each feature a Japanese woman in a destructive relationship with an African-American man. The title novella presents Kim, a nightclub singer who falls for a navy deserter called Spoon. As Kim and Spoon's coke-fueled sexual idyll spirals into violence, Kim remains desperate to keep him. Another sadomasochistic relationship forms the core of 'The Piano Player's Eyes,' about a woman named Ruiko who dominates her 'new toy,' Leroy Jones. When he returns to Japan two years later as a noted jazz pianist, they vie for the upper hand in the relationship, with devastating results. 'Jesse,' a wrenching story that unfolds more warmly than the previous two, revolves around a turbulent threesome: Rick, an alcoholic; his young girlfriend, Coco; and the title character, his 11-year-old son. Coco first sees Jesse as competition, but as she realizes the father-son bond trumps that between lovers, she struggles to win the boy's approval. In stark, profane prose, Yamada complicates racial stereotypesthe hypersexual black man, the submissive or dragon lady Asian womanas she illustrates how cultural and racial difference amplify 'the extraordinary power of sexual curiosity.'"Publishers Weekly
Review
"The stories are stark in their realism and the obsessive and irrational sexuality of the relationships she explores pulls the reader into the emotional conflicts that make these characters and their actions unforgettable." Library Journal
Synopsis
Bedtime Eyes is the first English-language publication of three of Yamada's short novellas: "Bedtime Eyes," "The Piano Player's Fingers," and "Jesse." Thematically linked, each involves the relationship between a Japanese woman and an African-American man, exploring love, sex, the search for true communication, and the vast gulf that separates the characters' different, yet equally revealing viewpoints. Starkly imagined and sharply observed, Bedtime Eyes introduces some of the most powerful and influential work by one of Japan's most exciting contemporary writers.
Synopsis
Amy Yamada is one of the most prominent--and controversial--novelists in Japan today. She bursted onto the scene in 1985 with her short novel "Bedtime Eyes," which for critics embodied the spirit of the 'shinjinru'--i.e. Generation X-- in much the same way that Less Than Zero, Bright Lights, Big City, and Douglas Coupland did in the U.S. Bedtime Eyes is the first English-language publication of three of Yamada's novellas/short novels: "Bedtime Eyes," "The Piano Player's Fingers" and "Jesse." While all are centered around the relationship between a Japanese woman and a black American man, each explores love, sex, and the vast gulf between from different and equally revealing viewpoints. Starkly imagined and sharply observed, Bedtime Eyes introduces to the English language some of Yamada's best known and most influential work.
About the Author
Amy Yamada is the author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. She is the winner of the Naoki Prize, Japan's equivalent of the Pulitzer, and - for "Bedtime Eyes" - the prestigious Bungei Prize. She lives outside of Tokyo, Japan.