a sardonic look at being a young and single American in Kyoto in the 1970s; it didn’t happen just like this, but it could have before he wrote his successful memoir about working at Studio Ghibli, the author of Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man had a very different experience of Japan; the many readers who enjoyed his behind the scenes adventures in business will surely come along for this very different but equally engaging ride as an outsider, the hero is privy to shared details of what really goes on behind the Japanese facade of politeness and restraint teachers, housewives, geisha, cynical expatriates, struggling language learners, blundering tourists, all among the backdrop of temples and contemplative gardens: a classic Kyoto landscape with a touch of acerbic wit will appeal to fans of Pico Iyer’s classic The Lady and the Monk and Donald Richie’s bawdy yet insightful novel The Inland Sea