Fujirama: A Japan Odyssey

By Philip J. Cunningham

"FUJIRAMA" is a work of fiction, a fun-filled meditation on what it means to be in Japan without really being part of it, to find oneself at odds with everything despite those memorable moments when it seems like anything is possible. The story follows the twists and turns of American rewriter at a Japanese TV station who cranks out rewrites and snappy slogans until he suddenly finds himself a fugitive from society, escaping to the mountains as an illegal alien. Collin is aided in his escape from the law by two female co-workers from the TV station -- office assistant Jianhong, and superstar announcer Miki-- who are poles apart in power and status, but share the common frustration of trying to make it in a man's world.Even when the three principal characters end up in the same bed, they dream very different dreams. Set against the magnificent backdrop of Mount Fuji, the characters battle the elements, the expectations of society, and one another during an off-season Sino-Japanese "friendship" climb recorded by a TV documentary crew. The risk of earthquakes and avalanches is never far, but pales before human folly that threatens the peace and amity between nations. Even in its cruelest incarnations, nature is a terrible beauty, but also, ultimately, an inspiration and guide.The three main characters fall in and out of trouble and in and out of love, but face no greater challenge than looking in the mirror. Packed with wit, conflict, insouciance, insolence and devilish fun, FUJIRAMA offers an off-the-rails adventure that offers serious food-for-thought and insightful observations along the way. Mount Fuji itself might be said to be a character in the drama, too, an aloof witness to the folly of men and women as a foolhardy TV crew crawls up its sweeping surface in an epic search for truth, beauty and love in all the wrong places.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1520126417
• ISBN13: 9781520126418
• Release Date: December 2016
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 0.7" x 6.1"