Two cities, Paris and Osaka and two short novels about desperate lives.
Predators: A Tale of Paris
Residing in Passy, Paris, Greek-American journalist Rick and African-French Martiniquean Yolanda, author and ex-model, lead a socially active and domestically quiet life. Unexpectedly they are asked by the wealthy and powerful Ogawa family, through Rick’s old editor in Tokyo, to let their daughter, Masami, homestay with them. This changes their lives. Their acne-ravaged and troubled Japanese guest idolizes Yolanda and likened herself to an abandoned cat perpetually searching for a home. After Masami starts giving Yolanda expensive gifts wrapped in exquisite Japanese paper, the couple soon wonder whether Masami is shoplifting, when does not have to, to demonstrate affection in some twisted way. The mystery deepens with the appearance boyfriend Brian, a secretive person and a seemingly talented poet. Without quite understanding why, he arouses Rick’s “cynical” journalistic suspicions. Then when Masami is about the leave, the Ogawas beg Rick and Yolanda to let Masami stay longer for a reason that will prove crucial to understanding the outcome of the strange mix of relationships in this tale.
The Bridge of Dreams: A Tale of Modern Japan
Homeless and disabled, Motoshima Saburo, 58, sells The Big Issue on Osaka’s colorful Ebisu Bridge, a short pedestrian thoroughfare filled with tourists, lovers, artists and hustlers of every stripe. Constantly struggling with both destitution and loneliness, which he compares to a jail where one is both prisoner and warden, Saburo falls into a moral battle with Ken, an aging toy boy and “dating club” tout, for the soul of “The Waif,” a tranquilizer addicted 17-year-old runaway, whom Ken has used for a haywire robbery. Saburo assumes the role of father and lover, though he cannot be either to the confused girl who will not tell him or anyone else her name. The story is set in 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession, which adds to the desperation that the three main characters face and casts an ominous shadow over the daily buoyancy on Ebisu Bridge.
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