Wrong About Japan

I just finished reading Peter Carey's latest book, Wrong About Japan: A Father's Journey With His Son. It is a fascinating account of a trip that Carey, a double Booker Prize winning Australian author now living in New York, takes to Tokyo with his 12 year old son. His son, Charley, has become obsessed with manga and anime, which his father has learnt to appreciate as well, and the two meet and interview many of the creators of their favourite comics and movies, such as the creators of Mobile Suit Gundam and Hayao Miyazaki, the director of Spirited Away, who has been called the Japanese Walt Disney. Aside from the interesting discussions of the films and comics, Carey has insightful observations about the differences between so-called "Real Japan", the Japan of tea ceremonies and temples, and the Japan as it is represented in international media. He also discusses the effect of the atomic bomb on the Japanese national consciousness, especially how it affects artists and writers.

Read an extract and some reviews from the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.