Love in Translation

By Wendy Nelson Tokunaga and Eden O'Neill

Book Overview

Stuck. That's how 33-year-old aspiring singer Celeste Duncan feels, with her deadbeat boyfriend and static career. But then Celeste receives a puzzling phone call and a box full of mysterious family heirlooms which just might be the first real clue to the identity of the father she never knew. Impulsively, Celeste flies to Japan to search for a long-lost relative who could be able to explain. She stumbles head first into a weird, wonderful world where nothing is quite as it seems--a land with an inexplicable fascination with foreigners, karaoke boxes, and unbearably perky TV stars.

With little knowledge of Japanese, Celeste finds a friend in her English-speaking homestay brother, Takuya, and comes to depend on him for all variety of translation, travel and investigatory needs. As they cross the country following a trail after Celeste's family, she discovers she's developing "more-than-sisterly" feelings for him. But with a nosy homestay mom scheming to reunite Takuya with his old girlfriend, and her search growing dimmer, Celeste begins to wonder whether she's made a terrible mistake by coming to Japan. Can Celeste find her true self in this strange land, and discover that love can transcend culture?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312372663
• ISBN13: 9780312372668
• Release Date: November 2009
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Such a pleasure to read

Celeste, a young woman determined to find her place in life (and the world), is a wonderfully drawn character. Her journey to discover her roots takes her from San Jose to Japan and treats us to a wonderful story filled with a bit of mystery, a bit of family-tree sleuthing, and a great deal of heart. Wendy Tokunaga's descriptions of life in Japan are vivid and enormously enjoyable. I was swept away and embraced by a culture that, before reading this book, I knew very little about. Twists and surprises abound, as does humor and tenderness. LOVE IN TRANSLATION was a joy to read.

Another Shining Star for Tokunaga!

While the title of Wendy Nelson Tokunaga's new novel is a play on words of the movie that put Scarlet Johansson on the map, this book is everything I wished the movie had been (what's so difficult about staying in a five star hotel in Tokyo while your boyfriend works all day--sounds like vacation to me!). Wendy Tokunaga is not only a great storyteller, but a witty humorist as well, immersing the reader in the cartoon culture of Hello Kitty and Japanese game shows. The plot itself--thirty-something Celeste Duncan moves from the Bay Area to Tokyo in search of a long lost shirt-tail relative--promises mystery, adventure, and excitement, but it's Celeste's encounter with Japanese culture that really kept my attention. With each cultural obstacle she encounters (wearing the wrong slippers in her host family's house, balking at a Japanese breakfast when she's first served one, or navigating her way through written and spoken Japanese), Celeste adapts well and becomes more confident in her ability to live in Japan, and, with hope, find the last remnants of her family. I also love how Celeste is determined to show up her ex-boyfriend by succeeding in Japan when he was so sure she couldn't. I often found myself laughing out loud and craving the food that Celeste eats in the book, be it the elaborate Japanese breakfast, the delicious "shoe creams", or a hot bowl of fresh ramen. I would recommend this book to anyone who has been to Japan or is planning a trip there, is interested in Japanese culture or cross-cultural relationships, or simply enjoys a good book about beating the odds and coming out on top. If you haven't read Tokunaga's debut novel, "Midori by Moonlight", that's a must-read, too.

A Visit With A Dear Friend

Love In Translation took me back through the streets of Tokyo--high tech signs blinking and ringing next to the sweet-potato seller calling out, the juxtaposition of old and new all wrapped up in cuteness, the strict adherence to a code of unspoken rules. The story is humorous and well-told, and I could identify with the young woman, Celeste, who was unsure of what she wanted to do or how she fit in to this foreign world. I devoured every page, and walked away feeling as if a dear old friend had come to visit.

fun yet profound tale

Thirty three year old Celeste Duncan extrapolates her present into the future and what she sees is ennui. She needs a change with her job and with her sort of boyfriend, but the wannabe singer fears taking the first step professionally or personally. However, Celeste receives an odd phone call and a box arrives filled with heirlooms; clues to the unknown father she never met. On a whim based on these new items being omens, she flies from San Jose to Japan in a ten hour airborne sardine can flight to meet her father. When she meets her English-speaking homestay "brother" Takuya she wants to kiss him senseless, but holds in check the desire. He helps her follow the clues especially with translating Japanese into English. As they travel across Japan, Celeste finds she is falling in love with her twenty-eight tears old guide, but his mom has his former girlfriend in mind for a daughter-in-law. As the trek increasingly looks futile, a despondent Celeste wonders if it is time to return the land of boredom. This is a fun yet profound tale due to the lead female who uses self deprecating amusing metaphors to describe her despondency over her life back in the States and her seeming failures in Japan. The story line is character driven as the audience will enjoy Celeste's fumbling with the culture starting with her practiced words in Japanese that she thought meant thank you for welcoming her, but instead her teacher tricked her and she proposed. Fans will enjoy an American in Japan falling in love with her homestay brother, the culture and the people as she searches for her biological father. Harriet Klausner

It's never too late to find yourself

Wendy Nelson Tokunaga's "Love in Translation" is a novel about discovering how a person's past does provide meaning and relevance to her future. In this story, Celeste Duncan begins her quest to find her roots, after the death of a close relative. Celeste travels to Japan to live with the Kubota family, in a modified arranged homestay agreement. Although she is much older than a typical exchange student, (she's 33 years old) she is just as inept at adjusting to the local Japanese customs, and routinely finds herself embarrassed and ashamed at her gaffes and faux pas with her host family. Her singing is her saving grace, and she is able to win over her host family, and later many more admirers, with her ability to capture the spirit of what it means to be Japanese - as depicted in the way she sings her songs. Celeste-san, as her Japanese host mother fondly calls her, is desperately trying to piece together the puzzle of her heritage. As she works diligently to locate her long lost relatives, she is actually hoping to find out who she really is. Her quest leads her to potential real love (with her homestay "brother" Takuya), true friendship (with her wacky Japanese instructor Mariko) and an understanding of her real-time relationship with her disinterested state-side boyfriend (Dirk). Through learning about the Japanese culture, Celeste learns about her real-life connection to her mysterious past. The book has just enough excitement to keep the reader guessing what will come next. What I enjoyed was that the story was fresh and not a bit predictable. There were several twists and turns, with just enough action to keep me reading. The book "Love in Translation" plays on the theme of a movie by a similar name. It is a book for all ages, and is an appropriate read for teens and adults alike. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read about a family secret, and a woman determined to find her place in the world no matter what the cost.