Turning Japanese

Turning Japanese

<div><p><B>MariNaomi’s newest graphic novel tours the mid-90’s US and Japanese illegal hostess bar scene and her own personal cultural awakening.</B><p>"The best comic about being Asian American in Japan. Like <I>Fun Home </I>and<I> Persepolis</I>, <I>Turning Japanese </I>is at once modest and grand. MariNaomi is a master of the small, intimate moments that build to a surprisingly emotional climax."—<B>Jason Shiga</B>, Ignatz and Eisner Award–winner</P><p>"In <I>Turning Japanese</I>, Mari's unflinching honesty, open heart, and hard-earned wisdom challenges us to embrace the unexpected detours that unfold in our own lives."—<B>Yumi Sakugawa</B>, author of <I>Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe</I></P><p>In 1995, twenty-two-year-old Mari had just exited a long-term relationship, moving from Mill Valley to San Jose, California. Soon enough, she falls in love, then finds employment at a hostess bar for Japanese expats, where she is determined to learn the Japanese language and culture. <I>Turning Japanese </I>is a story about otherness, culture clashes, generation gaps, and youthful impetuosity.</P><p><B>MariNaomi </B>is the author and illustrator of the SPACE Prize-winning graphic memoir <I>Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume</I>, <I>Ages 0 to 22 </I>(Harper Perennial, 2011), the Eisner-nominated <I>Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories </I>(2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014), and her self-published <I>Estrus Comics </I>(1998 to 2009). Her work has appeared in over sixty print anthologies, and has been featured on such websites as the <I>Rumpus</I>, the <I>Weeklings</I>, <I>Los Angeles Review of Books</I>, <I>Midnight Breakfast</I>, <I>Truthout</I>, <I>XOJane</I>, <I>Buzzfeed</I>, <I>Bitch Media</I>, and more. Mari's work on the <I>Rumpus</I> won a SPACE Prize and an honorable mention in Houghton Mifflin's <I>Best American Comics 2013</I>.<BR></div>