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Book Review: Max Danger: The Adventures of an Expat in Tokyo

Author: Robert J. Collins

Reviewer: Mark Groenewold

Date: June, 2003

Japan in the Go-Go '80's

I love this book. And the one that comes after it. Robert J. Collins is a great writer, and captures so much of the sounds and sights of Japan in a way which is both challenging to the reader and insightful of the Japanese culture. He questions, he laughs, he experiments and experiences all that Japan has to offer through his fictional character, Max Danger. Max's adventures were first chronicled in the pages of the Japan Times but have been bound and made available to the reading public. This book is not so easily available as it once was before, and may be phased out. If you are someone who enjoys humorous travel writings, this is really a must-have, particularly if you are interested in expatriate life in Japan.

Although this book is rooted in a Japan that existed 20 years ago, many parts of it are still relevant today. And for the parts that aren't, well, just consider your reading a form of humor-archeological research. It's all good stuff. Max Danger is a man who is stationed in Tokyo. He is subjected to the typical confusion and disorientation that afflicts all expatriate souls that find themselves living in the Pearl of the Orient. Unlike most disgruntled foreigners here, Max Danger is able to get through most days in one piece, and those that he doesn't he kills off with alcohol. You can hardly blame the man.

Funny as a whip, and as insightful as Dave Barry, this is an excellent read. Not every episode is a side-splitter, and some accounts are pretty close to the bone for this reader. Excellent stuff. Track down your copy through the internet, or through Tuttle publishing today.

Mark Groenewold
Kanazawa, Japan
June, 2003.

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