to focus on this aspect in her writing. The whole book would be stronger if she left alone her attempts to create a dramatic storyline!

Sophia2018-11-21 01:14

Japanland: a year in search of wa did not live up to its title and should be regarded only as a travelogue kept by an American documentary filmmaker. The author Karin Muller was in her mid-thirties when wanderlust returned into her life, along with a desire to seek some wa or inner harmony she observed in her Japanese judo instructors for herself. Reaching the conclusion that one needed to “become Japanese” in this quest, she decides to live in Japan for one year. However, I would argue that she takes up this task half-heartedly, as witnessed by her reactions to her deteriorating relationshipwith her initial host family, especially its matriarch Yukiko. Instead, this book is a hodge-podge of her day-to-day life and attempts to shoot footage about various aspects of Japanese life and culture. As implied by the choice of title—with its similarity to Disneyland, Graceland, and Legoland—Muller portrays Japan as a distant, somewhat mysterious and caricaturized place, albeit one filled with kind people.

Kaylee2018-12-17 23:40

Maybe it was the timing of reading this book that made me enjoy it so much, but I really, really liked it. I started it just after returning to the States from my first solo vacation, which is, admittedly, a bit of a cheesy time to start a book about a woman who takes a solo journey to Japan.Unlike Eat, Pray, Love, Japanland doesn't try to