Escape from Amsterdam

By Barrie Sherwood

Book Overview

Aozora---idle university student, future crooked bureaucrat, fresh broken heart---has been playing too much mah-jongg and now finds himself deep in debt. When Auntie Okane dies and leaves him and his sister Mai a priceless inheritance, he thinks his problems are solved. But they're only just beginning. Mai's disappeared, taken hostage by a notorious "yakuza "gang. Aozora can't collect the cash without her and his loan sharks are becoming impatient. So begins a fast-paced adventure that takes him to the deep south of Japan and the surreal environs of a Dutch theme park called Amsterdam. It sounds like a holiday, but Aozora is about to enter the real world. . . . Featuring the Japanese mob, motorcycle gangs, a phony princess, topiary dinosaurs, high-tech love dolls, and a selection of Japanese manga, "Escape from Amsterdam" is playful, offbeat, and thrilling. It paints a surprising portrait of contemporary Japan that few Westerners have seen and introduces a strikingly original and inventive writer.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312380402
• ISBN13: 9780312380403
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

A well-written, entertaining and thoughful trip through modern Japan

Brilliant! What a great book! I literally just finished reading it (catching breath) and I now have that empty feeling that sometimes happens after wrapping up a great novel. What will I do without Aozora in my life? I am a fairly big fan of modern Japanese novelists (esp. Murakami and Kirino) and I think Barrie Sherwood captures the oddities of the culture and people very well. I really hope that he starts to get more publicity because this story is awesome! I could totally see someone adapting it to film - it has the action and humanity that all good movies need. Basically, the book is about a hapless young guy who is aimlessly attending Kyoto University but mostly getting into gambling debt. Then it goes from there. I don't want to say any more for fear of giving to much away. Just read this book. You won't regret it.

quick delivery

the book arrived in perfect condition, quick delivery. very satisfied price was 1/2 or more off of what i would have paid in the retail store.

engaging lighthearted farcical Japanese Noir

University of Kyoto student Aozora Fujiwara has run up quite a gambling debt to local gangster Mr. Uno who runs an illegal mah-jongg parlor. However, his IOU may be covered because lucky for him his wealthy Auntie Okane died leaving him and his sister Mai with a large estate. However, a stipulation in his aunt's will causes Aozora some concern; to collect his sister must be with him. She vanished from opera school. While the yakuza mobsters seek to break some of his bones, Aozora searches for his sibling, whom he has not seen in over a year. Clues lead him to Amsterdam (Japan not Europe) where she is performing at the strange Dutch-themed amusement park home to the renowned "Harry Potterdam". However, even there Aozora runs into mobsters as local kingpin Gondo refuses to free the indentured Mai, who owes him; besides she does not want to leave her status as a princess entertaining his special clients here. This is an engaging lighthearted farcical Noir look at the nastier side of Japan through the eyes of a beguiling rascal who can be summed up by his self deprecating observation that women see his penis as a lobster fest. Fans will appreciate his unwanted escapades as Aozora seems to cross thugs or bores everywhere even on the bullet train. Manga illustrations and photos augment this mellow young man's run through the criminal gauntlet. Harriet Klausner

Entertaining first novel

Escape from Amsterdam was a surprisingly good read. It is the story of a Japanese college student in substantial debt over Mah Jong gambling loses. His Aunt has left him a large inheritance but he needs his sister to sign some papers first. Unfortunately, he doesn't know where she is. The novel describes his adventures in finding his sister in modern Japan. The story is both an adventure tale and an amusing travelogue though one aspect of modern Japanese culture. This is the author's first novel, but you wouldn't know that from the writing. While I would describe Escape as a light read (a few hours of good entertainment), there is also a subtle understory about the yearning for traditional Japan.