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The Eight Corners of the World
A novelist's comic account of a Japanese student who becomes a spy, filmmaker, and movie mogul charts the big-time aspirations of Yoshinori Yamaguchi
382 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
About the author
Gordon Weaver
24 books2 followersAmerican novelist and short-story writer. He was founding Editor of the Mississippi Review and Editor of Cimarron Review. He taught at a number of colleges and universities, including Oklahoma State.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 19, 2023
Yamaguchi Yoshinori, now an elderly man, sets to get a wabori tattoo that tells his life story.
I DNFed after ~100 pages. I really wanted to like the book. I enjoyed the idea of a young Japanese man attempting to earn his education, but committing international espionage to do so, intriguing. However, the writing style was a grind to get through.
First and foremost, the book is written in the first person of Yamaguchi (wataschi). He speaks in broken English, but with the vocabulary of someone with a higher collegiate education mixed with 1920s-era slang, reet! Not only does that lead to choppy and incoherent thoughts, but Weaver writes in endless, paragraph long sentences.
Secondly, there are several times throughout the book where Weaver writes an in-depth list for pages and pages and pages. It's exhausting.
Lastly, if you ignore the 1920s slang, borderline racist broken English, slurs (dagoes, krauts, etc.), run-on sentences, and pages of lists you still encounter Yamaguchi's redundant recaps of recent events.
I want to reiterate that I really wanted to enjoy this book. The concept was compelling, the protagonist memorable, but the writing style was impossible for me to ford through.
I DNFed after ~100 pages. I really wanted to like the book. I enjoyed the idea of a young Japanese man attempting to earn his education, but committing international espionage to do so, intriguing. However, the writing style was a grind to get through.
First and foremost, the book is written in the first person of Yamaguchi (wataschi). He speaks in broken English, but with the vocabulary of someone with a higher collegiate education mixed with 1920s-era slang, reet! Not only does that lead to choppy and incoherent thoughts, but Weaver writes in endless, paragraph long sentences.
Secondly, there are several times throughout the book where Weaver writes an in-depth list for pages and pages and pages. It's exhausting.
Lastly, if you ignore the 1920s slang, borderline racist broken English, slurs (dagoes, krauts, etc.), run-on sentences, and pages of lists you still encounter Yamaguchi's redundant recaps of recent events.
I want to reiterate that I really wanted to enjoy this book. The concept was compelling, the protagonist memorable, but the writing style was impossible for me to ford through.
July 6, 2022
2nd read through. With more knowledge, this books shines even more. The historical people, places, events that run through the book are factual. The syntax is fresh and addictive.
Yoshinori Yamaguchi aka Gooch, aka Lt. Benshi, aka Foto Joe is telling his life story to a tattoo artist who is going to create a tattoo for his back to depict his life. After he dies, his tattoo will be removed and displayed at the Watanabe Nautical Museum of Tattoo Arts.
The.msin character, known by various names throughout his life, is hooked on English slang. Ex. Wataschi no baka illiterate unable to describe holograph on wall. Meaning, I'm not stupid, I can read the writing the wall.
He was engaged in propaganda filming of Japanese (Dai Nippon) hakko ichui plan to bring the eight corners of the world under one roof during WWII.
He also, at various times, had great losses through fires, including losing his family, and being one of the first to enter Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1945 after the bomb.
During his Lt. Benshi stage he worked closely with Premier-General Tojo Hideki (aka The Razor). There is a Timeline documentary on him available on youTube.
Yoshinori Yamaguchi aka Gooch, aka Lt. Benshi, aka Foto Joe is telling his life story to a tattoo artist who is going to create a tattoo for his back to depict his life. After he dies, his tattoo will be removed and displayed at the Watanabe Nautical Museum of Tattoo Arts.
The.msin character, known by various names throughout his life, is hooked on English slang. Ex. Wataschi no baka illiterate unable to describe holograph on wall. Meaning, I'm not stupid, I can read the writing the wall.
He was engaged in propaganda filming of Japanese (Dai Nippon) hakko ichui plan to bring the eight corners of the world under one roof during WWII.
He also, at various times, had great losses through fires, including losing his family, and being one of the first to enter Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1945 after the bomb.
During his Lt. Benshi stage he worked closely with Premier-General Tojo Hideki (aka The Razor). There is a Timeline documentary on him available on youTube.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews