Tokyo Sketches: Short Stories

I'm delighted to say I was delighted by the collection- especially so since, before this book I had read the Collected Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald & was underwhelmed. The iconic writer's tales were larded with cardboard characters, creaky plot machinations, & just plain old bad writing, down to the construction of sentences. Hamill, on the other hand, has crafted a collection of 13 tales about the great Japanese metropolis. Rather, about things related to Tokyo. His characters are real, the situations unique, & just when you think the story is going to turn out a trite way it goes in another direction. Yet, his tales' ends are not deus ex machinas, nor Twilight Zone-like twists that properly belong to sci fi- they are, like life often is, abruptions in the flow- yet wholly believable....What makes the book & its tales so good is how they unfold. The little details- their descriptions, & usage within- separate Hamill from hack tale tellers. The way he so realistically describes Tokyo- sans mythology- reveals human bonds in ways that PC Elitist writing utterly fails to. Hamill does not ram these similarities down the readers' throats. Notably, most of the similarities are in the negative vein. The prose is poetic, but never floral. There are no wasted sentences, nor descriptions. Having only read his journalism & this book I wonder how much of this book's style owes to its subject matter. Hamill has a pitch-perfect sense of the length of his tales, where to make breaks in the narrative, & when to end the stories, always leaving the reader wondering what happened next in these characters' lives. Few writers have that- even supposed greats like Fitzgerald could learn that lesson. Would-be fictionists in creative writing classes should be forced to read these tales for their economy, subversion of the expected, & the power of detail, rather than the pabulum that is spewn out now, which wins award after award, yet leave nary a fraction of the emotional impact of these tales. Having recently completed a 4 book series of memoirs on growing up in New York I feared that there may have been a large gap between the mid-20th Century's noted chroniclers of New York's streets & my tales. Luckily, Pete Hamill, if this book's an indication of his non-journalistic prowess, is more than an able bridge between the 2- he's a possible Master.

I read this book while living in Japan, and thought it was very good. I recently reread it and it was as good as I remembered it.As in "the Invisible City," Hamill writes about the small glories and tragedies of ordinary people, and does it in succinct and understated fashion. His characters, while sometimes a little odd, are always believable. This is a feat considering that he is writing about a foreign country. Part of this is because the protagonists are often expatriates. He is very good at characterising the sort of people who are drawn the japan and japanese culture. His japanese characters are also believable, particularly the title character in "A Blues for Yukiko."

I read this book a long time ago, and my memory's not so great, but this is just a concurring opinion to the above. Also, I've lent/given this book to other people and they tell me they've enjoyed it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The references to both American and Japanese culture were quite refreshing, and amusing to those who know background information on Asian culture. I, having grown up Asian-American, giggled at many of the references, understanding what was meant. The stories are short enough to make you want to read them and not be worried about not being able to finish, yet long enough to delve deep into the lives of the characters. Great details and description draw readers in. The endings make you wish for more and wonder if there was some mistake -- if a page was left out at the end. Some personal favorites of mine were The 48th Ronin, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, and The Magic Word. Every story is truly a masterpiece. I couldn't put the book down even if I had to!