Japan Took the J.A.P. Out of Me

This book was very funny and insightful at the same time. It shows the strength of her resolve to adjust to such a drastic change. I love how supportive her husband was through the rough patches. A definite must read.

I loved this book!!! I found it to be entertaining, witty and downright funny!!!! I myself spent twelve years off and on in Japan and felt as though I were visiting it again. The food, the grocery stores, the people, everything was spot on. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommended it to several of my friends who thanked me tremendously. In this world of earthquakes, poor economys etc. I found this a pure delight. And by the way, I believe that this is the author's first book and I absolutely cannot wait!!! to read her second.... (which I hope is on the way!!!!) If you like to laugh, don't take life too seriously and want to get lost into another culture----then this book is for you.

I thought the writer of this book was really able to show that moving to Japan with her new lifestyle dramatically changed her life and her perception of how married people live, communicate and work on their own personal strides. What I enjoyed most from Ms. Cook's memoir is her use of humor and good natured self depiction to really show just how difficult and demanding changing one's lifestyle can be but also shows the positive results once she tackled the idea of those changes. I also enjoyed the dynamics of her relationship with her best friend and how that relationship had to transend geographical limitations in order to her to fully develop and appreciate her relationship with her new husband.

This lighthearted, funny memoir laughs at itself, and this is what makes it work best. Lisa Cook clearly doesn't intend to give us a history lesson or a cultural diatribe about Japan. Though she conveys what it felt like for her to live there, Japan is really her canvas and the story is her coming-of-age. For anyone who enjoys peering into someone's past, watching her overcome hurdles (some poignant, some downright silly), and getting to live vicariously overseas while doing so, this book does the trick. I suppose it could have been set just about anywhere and just about anytime because Ms. Cook's life lessons are timeless: grow up, get over it, recognize and appreciate what you have, and learn to not take yourself so seriously. Kudos to her for letting it all hang out--the rest of us will be entertained as a result.

What a refreshing and amusing spin on the age-old "fish out of water" tale. I laughed out loud so many times that my husband finally grabbed the book to see what I was reading. It's an easy read and a great way to spend a few hours. Lisa captures so many details and nuances of that first year of marriage but does so in a loving way towards her husband. Similarly, she is able to capture the many amusing cultural differences she faces in a new country while respecting the very culture to which she is trying so hard to adapt. I can't wait to see what Year 2 of Lisa's marriage "takes out of her".