Death of a Salaryman

Bought a book by this title on Labour Day and finally finished reading it last Saturday. Book was actually quite engaging and accurate of the Japanese culture given that it was written by an ang moh, Fiona Campbell. Yes, I can hear people asking, just as Tytianne had asked, how come an ang moh is writing about the Japanese. Well, I can say the same for an ang moh writing about the crown princess Masako.

Anyway, I don't care what is the reason an ang moh is writing a story on the Japanese. It's a good book which I recommend reading. It is a book many of us can probably relate to seeing we are living in an Asian society. Retrenchment at middle-age and failing to find employment, worries of causing our family to "lose face", Asian meekness when dealing with bosses, learning to fight for what we want, etc.

All in all, as I had put it, the depiction of the Japanese culture was quite accurate except for some minor details that people would probably not notice. An example is when the protagonist was asked to sign on the delivery form for a car his mother-in-law won. Signatures are not common in Japan. The Japs use seals/chops on documents instead of signing as we do, and for more official purposes such as buying a house, opening bank accounts etc, the seal used has to be registered at a municipal hall.

Another thing was a scene when an acquaintance hugged the protagonist in public. If these 2 had been teenagers or young people, I think it is highly possible. However, we are talking about 2 middle-age people of opposite sex, what are the odds that they will hug in public even for something that was worth being excited about?

Anyway, these are just small flaws that can be glossed over.