Midori by Moonlight - Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
Californian's Debut About a Japanese Woman in America
Jan 6, 2008
Midori Saito was too independent for her native Japan. As a school girl, she had crushes on American and English celebrities instead of the Japanese men her classmates mooned over. She spent her time learning and practicing English, and was too independent minded and outspoken to fit in.
Alone in San Francisco
So when she suddenly finds herself alone in San Francisco, her family and friends behind in Japan, she should be prepared. She dreamed of returning to the states after a trip there as a young girl. But instead, she is terrified. Her fiance Kevin, whom she met in Japan and came to California to marry, suddenly breaks their engagement and reunites with his ex-girlfriend just days before their wedding is to take place. She packs up her belongings and moves into a hotel on his parents' dime, and spends her days avoiding her parents' phone calls. She is alone in a foreign country with no friends, no family, and -- more importantly -- no green card. On a whim, she telephones Shinji, a former co-worker of Kevin's who is from Japan and offered to help her practice English. He offers her help and a room in his apartment, and soon she moves in.
Culture Clash and Finding Oneself
Trained in Japan as a tour guide, Midori has trouble finding work in San Francisco. Tipped off by a woman at a job board, she soon finds herself working under the table at a Japanese hostess bar. The work is less than pleasant, but the money is good, and soon Midori has enough to afford some basic baking supplies. She dreams of becoming a master pastry chef, and soon sets up her own makeshift pastry shop in the kitchen she shares with Shinji, much to his delight.
Midori By Moonlight is as much about the culture clash of a young woman finding her way in a foreign country as it is a story about finding yourself. Midori finds new strength when she starts to believe in herself and puts her efforts into her pastries. She befriends a neighbor, a chef at a fancy San Francisco restaurant, and through word of mouth finds work making desserts. Before she knows it, Midori finds herself more successful than she thought she could be, and even finds the strength to come clean to her parents about her broken engagement.
About the Author
Drawing on her extensive experience living, working and playing in Japan, as well as her cross-cultural marriage to a Japanese-born “surfer dude,” Tokunaga explores the theme of why some people feel the need to trade in their native culture for a new one.
Midori By Moonlight is her debut novel. She is also the author of the novel No Kidding, a winner in the 2002 Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
Midori by Moonlight
Nelson Tokunaga, Wendy
New York, St. Martin's Press, September 18, 2007
