When Peter Carey offered to take his son to Japan, 12-year-old Charley stipulated no temples or museums. He wanted to see manga, animeread full description
reviews
Oct 31, 2007
aya
rated it: 
an account of peter carey's trip to japan with his 12-year-old son to explore the world of japanese anime and manga.
it seems that all peter carey found in japan is disappointment and irritation. this would be fine, if he could turn those findings into an interesting book with any sort of insight. when i wasn't waiting for him to really get into it, i was busy being irritated and offended. (also annoyed with the translation/transliteration errors.)
it seems to me that all of his disappointment More...
it seems that all peter carey found in japan is disappointment and irritation. this would be fine, if he could turn those findings into an interesting book with any sort of insight. when i wasn't waiting for him to really get into it, i was busy being irritated and offended. (also annoyed with the translation/transliteration errors.)
it seems to me that all of his disappointment More...
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(4 people liked it)
Apr 06, 2008
Will
rated it: 
This little book is surprising because it is about so much, and everything it is about is covered so effectively. Here are some things that it is about:
-It is about Japan, and a Westerner in Japan, and then it is about cultural misunderstanding.
-It is about fathers and sons, and how they want to connect, and how hard that can be.
-It is about Manga and Anime, and it is about art and culture and how cultures consume art.
-It is about war, and children of war. And about how those More...
-It is about Japan, and a Westerner in Japan, and then it is about cultural misunderstanding.
-It is about fathers and sons, and how they want to connect, and how hard that can be.
-It is about Manga and Anime, and it is about art and culture and how cultures consume art.
-It is about war, and children of war. And about how those More...
Oct 31, 2007
Carolyn
rated it: 
I found this slim volume on sale for just a couple of bucks at my local bookstore and picked it up because it looked, at first glance, like a breezy account of the author's visit with his son to Japan, a country I very much hope to visit myself one day. Ultimately, I found the experience of reading the book somewhat frustrating. Peter Carey seems to go through the book in a near-constant state of frustration and embarrassment as his attempts to understand Japanese culture are politely but firmly
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Oct 25, 2011
"En esta ocasión, desde la redacción, y sabiendo la gran cantidad de lectores de manga y amantes de la cultura japonesa que abren constantemente las puertas de nuestro particular Templo, queremos recomendaros un libro que nos muestra todo un viaje de acercamiento a la diversificada y a veces mal clasificada sociedad nipona, y que creemos todos pueden disfrutar. En 2002 el autor del libro que os presentamos, Peter Carey, emprendió un viaje a la tierra del sol naciente junto con su hijo Cha
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Feb 03, 2012
Cassandra
rated it:
Hmmmm... Well... I picked up this book because I'm interested in memoirs written by foreigners who visit Japan. In this case, the author is an Australian who currently lives in New York City and visited Japan to learn more about how Japanese culture affects anime.
Parts of the book were funny but, overall, it was frustrating. "Wrong About Japan." That is exactly what this book is about, a series of beliefs about Japan that are debunked. However, the truth about Japan is nev More...
Parts of the book were funny but, overall, it was frustrating. "Wrong About Japan." That is exactly what this book is about, a series of beliefs about Japan that are debunked. However, the truth about Japan is nev More...
Nov 23, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it: 
I have to say that the more I read, the less I liked Peter Carey. He is clearly not much of a people person—his interactions with others are uniformly awkward and I was rather appalled by the way he treated his son’s friend, Takashi. He seemed more intent on rushing around, trying to achieve some purpose that wasn’t even clear to himself. He came across as being distinctly snobbish.
The book reminded me a bit of Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. That too is about a foreigner More...
The book reminded me a bit of Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. That too is about a foreigner More...
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(1 person liked it)
Nov 08, 2011
Tine
rated it:
I feel weird.
Most of the commentary you'll read in the reviews about Carey's personality as it comes across in the book are correct: awkward, stiffly foreign and unable to yield to the current pace of another society. At one point, his son swiftly jabs him underneath the table, which was cathartic for me, as the reader, who was just as often embarrassed by the elder's actions as I was painfully reflected in them. Perhaps it helps that I am in-between old Peter's and young Charley's age - More...
Most of the commentary you'll read in the reviews about Carey's personality as it comes across in the book are correct: awkward, stiffly foreign and unable to yield to the current pace of another society. At one point, his son swiftly jabs him underneath the table, which was cathartic for me, as the reader, who was just as often embarrassed by the elder's actions as I was painfully reflected in them. Perhaps it helps that I am in-between old Peter's and young Charley's age - More...
Jan 08, 2010
Harry
rated it:
I was wrong about Peter Carey. I picked up this little book hoping to either learn about Japan or at the very least get some of Carey's wonderful writing (I loved "The Kelly Gang"). I was disappointed.
This book reads like a long personal essay. I learned nothing about Japan, though to be fair this was written before America's love affair with manga broke out. It's more aboout Carey's relationship with his son than anything else, although even that is boring, uneventful, and More...
This book reads like a long personal essay. I learned nothing about Japan, though to be fair this was written before America's love affair with manga broke out. It's more aboout Carey's relationship with his son than anything else, although even that is boring, uneventful, and More...
Apr 17, 2011
Hazel
rated it:
Many thanks to Tuck who recommended this when I expressed an interest in Japanese culture. Carey's very slight report on a trip to Japan with his 12 year old son raises more questions than it answers. He doesn't try to make himself look good, and people of his generation or older may well think he should have been kinder and more sensitive to his son's friend. But we can all relate to his travelling with preconceptions and his own interpretations of Japanese art (in the form of manga and anime),
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Feb 05, 2009
With two Booker Prizes to his credit, Carey has little left to prove in literary circles. But he admits straightaway that he's a horrible reporter. So horrible, in fact, that one of the characters of his new nonfiction book, Wrong About Japan, is entirely fictional. That reviewers let such trickery slide attests to Carey's remarkable writing skills, as does the rich variety of critical responses to his book. It's an homage to his son, a study of dislocation, and an intellectual inquiry into the
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Jan 05, 2010
Chuck
rated it:
I wish I were a Booker-Prize-winning novelist so that I could convince my publishing company that a trip to Japan with my manga-loving twelve-year-old son could be written off as a business expense. Really, that is all I could think about when I read this book. Carey wants to take his son to Japan to meet famous manga and anime creators, and he is able to do this because of all of his connections in the publishing world. The book does offer some interesting insights into Japanese culture, but
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Sep 07, 2011
Maria
rated it:
I loved this book. ("Wrong about Japan" is the title of the English original, which I read translated to Portuguese).
Japan as a place visited by Westerners with cultural "prejudices" about "what" the Japanese culture means and obsessed with "finding a meaning" behind all sorts fo cultural icons (such as manga, cartoons, etc.) - just to discoverd that whatever "meaning" there may be, will not be the one projected by the Western visitor More...
Japan as a place visited by Westerners with cultural "prejudices" about "what" the Japanese culture means and obsessed with "finding a meaning" behind all sorts fo cultural icons (such as manga, cartoons, etc.) - just to discoverd that whatever "meaning" there may be, will not be the one projected by the Western visitor More...
Aug 10, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
I really liked this. It was brief, and the author dipped into subjects here and there, giving me that odd sensation you get when you're on a trip and you're just dipping your toes in a different place. Carey is apparently known for his fiction, but this was an account of a trip he took to Japan with his son to learn more about the complexities of anime and manga and what they say about the Japanese culture. Not only does he describe what he learns about Japan, but he also navigates the reader th
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Jul 05, 2011
neko
rated it:
I have incredibly little interest in non-fiction, so for me to even take a crack at 'Wrong About Japan' should make headlines. I was enticed by the eclectic cover and ensnared by the blurb which speaks of a journey to, and around, Tokyo that was inspired by a passion for anime and manga - which sounds not entirely unlike my own experiences traveling to Japan.
It was interesting to see some of the aspects of the cultural divide presented and explored, albeit in less depth than I'd have l More...
It was interesting to see some of the aspects of the cultural divide presented and explored, albeit in less depth than I'd have l More...
Nov 29, 2010
Carl
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book. I have a casual interest in manga and anime but don’t really know much about it or, indeed, Japan. I thought this was a really accessible read and a good starting point for newcomers to Japanese culture. You learn a little about manga titles such as Mobile Suit Gundam and the films of Hayao Miyazaki, with occasional, fleeting interviews, and a little about the “Real” Japan, too. It’s not really in depth, and sometimes Carey’s interest in the subtext of the comics and
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Jul 13, 2011
Beata
rated it:
This is one of these **1/2 star books for me... Decent writing and healthy amount of humor. But after that... eh.
Peter Carey (the father) takes his son (Charley) on what seems like a weeklong trip to Japan, because Charley loves manga and anime and Peter tries to like it too, so that he can bond with his son. He's not a horrible father and the most ignorant of travelers, but he goes to Japan with preconceived ideas and like a grumpy, middle-aged guy that he is, all set in his w More...
Peter Carey (the father) takes his son (Charley) on what seems like a weeklong trip to Japan, because Charley loves manga and anime and Peter tries to like it too, so that he can bond with his son. He's not a horrible father and the most ignorant of travelers, but he goes to Japan with preconceived ideas and like a grumpy, middle-aged guy that he is, all set in his w More...
Jan 18, 2011
John
rated it:
Not a book that I would have chosen, but it was one that my wife spotted as it arrived at the library and picked up, possibly because of our trip to Tokyo last year.
A well worked travelogue of a father and sons trip to Tokyo and the real Japanese people they find there. We stayed very close to their hotel in Asakusa without knowing the areas history, and visited the Manga/Anime centre in Akihabara too.
We too were fascinated by the toilets especially the noises that they can be set to More...
A well worked travelogue of a father and sons trip to Tokyo and the real Japanese people they find there. We stayed very close to their hotel in Asakusa without knowing the areas history, and visited the Manga/Anime centre in Akihabara too.
We too were fascinated by the toilets especially the noises that they can be set to More...
Mar 26, 2009
Ginny
rated it:
Discovered this in a dollar tree bin and it was such a great find! It was an interesting mix of cultural anthropology, and a father/son relationship. It was at first disappointing to find Peter's Carey's insights into anime and manga proven false, but I think that was the point. Foreigners, and even natives, can never fully understand or explain Japanese culture. Over all it was very entertaining. However, it is not hard for me to understand why I got this book for a dollar. If you have an inter
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Jul 23, 2011
Rachael
rated it:
Peter Carey's slim memoir about the trip he took to Japan with his anime/manga obsessed, socially awkward son. There was a lot about being a foreigner who couldn't really understand the culture and meeting famous artists oonly to ask awkward questions through interpreters. The best aspect of the story was their interactions with the son's online Japanese friend (also obsessed with Gundam, to the point of dressing like a character), who accompanies them and more than welcoming until Carey - confu
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Mar 03, 2011
Robin
rated it:
After reading about this in the book "Manga High: Literacy, Identity and Coming of Age in an Urban High School" by Michael Bitz (2009) I felt reading it would help my understanding of why teens are so interested in manga and the Japanese culture. And I was completely right. In this book the author and his son travel to Japan because the boy is so obsessed with manga. And the trip reveals some interesting information about Japan and the creators of manga. The author ends up meeting Haya
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Feb 15, 2009
This book, which I bought for $1.00 on a "reduced for quick sale" table, is said to offer "a far-ranging study of history and of culture" of Japan.
My own interest was not a study of the history of culture of Japan, but rather the adventures, "comic, surprising, and deeply moving," that author Peter Carey and his son Charley experienced as a result of their shared interest in Japanese manga and anime.
I am a dad and a granddad who knows from ex More...
My own interest was not a study of the history of culture of Japan, but rather the adventures, "comic, surprising, and deeply moving," that author Peter Carey and his son Charley experienced as a result of their shared interest in Japanese manga and anime.
I am a dad and a granddad who knows from ex More...
Jun 10, 2010
Jake
rated it:
A breezy little book that can be summed up by the quote, "some times half-knowledge is worse than complete ignorance." I can relate to much of Carey's frustrations in interviewing Japanese creators, having hit some of the same walls that he describes. Mostly, though, I can empathize with Carey's son and travelling companion who is perpetually embarrassed by his dad's misguided attempts to find insight through the lens of anime and manga. Ultimately, it's a pleasant but shallow read, pe
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Aug 31, 2011
Tyler
rated it:
Meh. But I paid 2$ at Chapters for it at the discount bin. I went to Japan shortly after this with a Japanese gf and this book really over-glamorizes the people and culture. If anyone was wrong about Japan, it's Carey. The people there are not much different from us westerners, and I was not as culture shocked as I thought 'd be. He makes the people out to be mega nerd who dress like comic book heros on a daily basis. Carey also spends too much time over-analyzing the GUNDAM franchise when what
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Oct 18, 2011
Meredith
rated it:
This was a great read. It's a small book that does what it sets out to do. Nothing encyclopedic or even monumentally insightful...just an honest, interesting travelogue of a father and son in Japan. You don't have to enjoy anime to enjoy this book, since it's more about being a foreigner, an outsider, than anything else. That said, it would be good for a teen who wants a little taste/another way to view how the manga they enjoy fits in to Japanese culture, or for a parent who might want to get
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Feb 10, 2011
Inês
rated it:
While I am not or ever have been into manga or anime, I did go through a phase of severe obsession with Japanese style and music a few years back. This was the time when I was an obnoxious preteen who wore out a stick of black eyeliner in a month and who refused to look or be happy ever. Looking back, I felt like slapping some sense into myself.
However, some good things remained. Namely, my love for Hayao Miyazaki and the awe for Japanese culture. I know nothing about Japanese culture. Sure More...
However, some good things remained. Namely, my love for Hayao Miyazaki and the awe for Japanese culture. I know nothing about Japanese culture. Sure More...
Dec 18, 2008
Trin
rated it:
I'm really not sure what Carey was trying to accomplish with this book. He goes to Japan with his preteen son, who's a big manga and anime fan, and has his agent hook him up with interviews with lots of big names in the manga/anime world. Along the way he spouts a lot of pretentious theories about what the "real Japan" is. The Japanese people he interviews then tell him they think he's wrong. So Carey shrugs and concludes that Japan is unknowable. I think.
Okay, fine, I agre More...
Okay, fine, I agre More...
Aug 09, 2008
La Petite Américaine
rated it:
Author Peter Carey takes his 12 year-old son to Japan when he realizes that the boy is fascinated with anime and manga. The story that unfolds is one westerner's complete miunderstanding of Japanese culture, often reaching points of being cringe-worthy. It does end triumphantly, though, and it is overall a cute read.
I'd have liked it a lot more if it weren't written in such a Booker Prize Winner/snob/father-knows-best condescending tone. Carey is the typical kind of annoying dad that More...
I'd have liked it a lot more if it weren't written in such a Booker Prize Winner/snob/father-knows-best condescending tone. Carey is the typical kind of annoying dad that More...
Jun 29, 2010
Julie
rated it:
Wrong About Japan tells the tale of Peter Carey's trip to Japan with his 12-year-old son, Charley. Charley has become obsessed with manga and anime (and Gundam in particular) and so Carey pulls his publishing-world strings to get interviews with some major anime/manga figures: Yoshiyuki Tomino, the director of the early Gundam series; Hiroyuki Kitakubo, director of Blood: The Last Vampire; and perhaps most impressively, filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.
In planning the trip, they kept talking More...
In planning the trip, they kept talking More...
Mar 09, 2008
Wrong About Japan begins with a series of Saturday morning visits to the video shop and Forbidden Planet comic shop to procure Japanese anime films and manga comics. Carey the father initially comes along as censor, but soon becomes accomplice as he and his son Charley develop a fascination with the unusual and intricate popular art form. Both want more, and Carey arranges a working trip to Japan, where together, the Careys explore their differing notions of cultural meaning, art, and above all,
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Mar 18, 2011
"Wrong About Japan" by Peter Carey
(Vintage)
The great novelist takes his 12-year-old son to Japan, where he learns that everything he thought he knew was wrong. Plus, manga! Anime! Toilets the likes of which you wouldn't believe! And a host of people to remind Crey that he doesn't know a damn thing about what he's talking about (in the nicest, most polite possible way.) -- Sarah Jersild
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-...
(Vintage)
The great novelist takes his 12-year-old son to Japan, where he learns that everything he thought he knew was wrong. Plus, manga! Anime! Toilets the likes of which you wouldn't believe! And a host of people to remind Crey that he doesn't know a damn thing about what he's talking about (in the nicest, most polite possible way.) -- Sarah Jersild
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-...
