Rainy Day Ramen and the Cosmic Pachinko

Rainy Day Ramen and the Cosmic Pachinko

  • Downloads：5839
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-15 08:51:51
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Gordon Vanstone
  • ISBN：1912049821
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A delightfully debauched， spiritual quest through a hallucinatory Japan of cursed gaijin houses， seedy hostess bars， a Beatles-themed McDonalds， mysterious internet cafe denizens， and one seriously pissed off cat。

After three years in Japan， Fred Buchanan is broke， unemployed and engaged in a telepathic turf war with a feral cat behind an Okinawa convenience store。 Thus begins his metaphysical odyssey back to Tokyo and search for meaning beyond the earthly path followed。
Along the way， symbols and sages materialise in the form of a two-fingered jazz musician， the faded tattoo on an ex-yakuza lover， the kite flyer of Kabukicho and Yukie， an alluring hostess with strips of delicious thigh and strange power imbued in the etched eye on her fingernail。
Charging through Shinjuku's neon jungle， enveloped in a boozy， nicotine-stained haze， past and present collide as an empty orchestra croons a slow dance of people and place， memory and madness， loss and love。 All the while， Fred struggles to be an agent of his destiny and not another ball bearing bouncing through the cosmic pachinko。
Rainy Day Ramen and the Cosmic Pachinko is told as a uniquely clever mix of Murakami-esque magical realism and gonzo Japan travelogue。 Nimbly structured and loosely presented as a modern mash-up of Homer's Odyssey and Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji。

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Reviews

Monica ，

Such a treasure each one of these books is。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest happening this April till the end of May with a theme werewolf。 You can also publish your stories in NovelStar， just email our editors hardy@novelstar。top， joye@novelstar。top， or lena@novelstar。top。

Maryjoy Malinao ，

I liked this book a lot。 The setting was made very interesting with smart choices locations within locations and these were wisely utilised by the author to enhance the plot and to compliment the writing over-all。 It was at time lyrical and flowed with unique style both light and insightful。 The magical realism and romance were my favourite aspects and they made this a really fun， sexy read which transports the read to Japan and through Tokyo's red-light Kabukicho。 I felt like I was along for th I liked this book a lot。 The setting was made very interesting with smart choices locations within locations and these were wisely utilised by the author to enhance the plot and to compliment the writing over-all。 It was at time lyrical and flowed with unique style both light and insightful。 The magical realism and romance were my favourite aspects and they made this a really fun， sexy read which transports the read to Japan and through Tokyo's red-light Kabukicho。 I felt like I was along for the ride of Fred's metaphysical odyssey and enjoyed all the stops and interesting characters met along the way。 I was left pondering fate， destiny and how much agency we really have over these forces in our life， and so the novel was successful in moving me to consider these philosophical questions while also being an interesting study of the human condition and how we unintentionally hurt， are driven by self and at times find little pockets in life in which to grow and expand our perspectives。I went to the authors website www。rainydayramen。com and there were some interesting blog posts and pictorial tours through the places and things which pepper the pages of his novel。 These were great to read for more background and insight， not some much on Japan， but Fred's Japan。 I'm planning to visit Tokyo after the Covid is over and will definitely bring this book along and re-read to enhance the experience。 。。。more

Susan ，

This book was fun， it kept me guessing and I enjoyed the variety of allegory employed throughout。 The scenery was well described and the story provided a nice look at parts of Japan and Tokyo in particular。 It is as advertised an outsiders view and one of a drunk and lost unemployed gaijin （former ESL teacher）， which was a well captured and interesting perspective， well told， but not necessarily one all readers will want to be immersed in and the lens through which they'd choose to experience th This book was fun， it kept me guessing and I enjoyed the variety of allegory employed throughout。 The scenery was well described and the story provided a nice look at parts of Japan and Tokyo in particular。 It is as advertised an outsiders view and one of a drunk and lost unemployed gaijin （former ESL teacher）， which was a well captured and interesting perspective， well told， but not necessarily one all readers will want to be immersed in and the lens through which they'd choose to experience the country， it's culture and people。 That said， the MC as a flawed protagonist works for the most part， there is evolution but not so much as to make it unbelievable and at the end I didn't necessarily like him， but there was an affinity and some sympathy。 The supporting characters sometimes more interesting and drew me in more than Fred's meandering， such as Jae-hyun， the North Korean refugee and former pachinko parlour magnet， or Yukie the hostess with an power imbued in the etched eye of her fingernail and a stronger sense of direction in life than Fred who she befriends and takes as a lover。 These characters， I suppose though shine brighter， as they are to act as guiding lights for the bumbling and lost Fred， if only he will open his blurred eyes and see the path set。 The length was an issue， as it covers a lot of ground （geographically） and as it is presented as two overlapping and interwoven narratives， then it makes sense。 The end though not overwhelmingly gripping was satisfying as the many threads presented throughout were nicely drawn together and a sense of resolution is given while still left open for a interpretation and a possible sequal。As magical realism the novel really hits the mark。 It presents believable and realistic people， places and situation but builds into each a mysterious aspect and makes the mundane magical。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Rainy Day Ramen and the Cosmic Pachinko

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Rainy Day Ramen and the Cosmic Pachinko&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Rainy Day Ramen and the Cosmic Pachinko&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0