Christopher Johnson

Kobe Blue --- Danger in the Land of Safety (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Easy money. Sexual freedom. Thousands of foreigners seek a Japanese Utopia in a booming economy with ancient wisdom and a high tech future. But as the Bubble bursts, they discover troubling insights about themselves, their secretive lovers, and a nation built on the most dangerous ground in the world.

From the Bubble Economy to the Kobe earthquake and beyond, Kobe Blue is more than a nostalgic look at the Golden Age of Japan. Based on real experiences, the novel explores the inner turmoil of cross-cultural relationships and the complex morality of anyone living in consumerist societies and over-crowded cities.

An overworked Japanese woman, living in a rundown "Old World" part of Kobe, hopes a young foreigner will help her overcome the loss of men in her life. She teaches him about Japanese philosophy and erotic culture, while concealing horrors that could ruin his love affair with her and Japan. He soon becomes entangled with colleagues on a romp through the classrooms, boardrooms and bedrooms of a metropolis spread across four cities. Then, on a cold winter night, the earth begins to shake, unleashing the destruction of a city.

"Lacking spaces of our own, we hide within the closets of our secrets. For all of Japan's reputation for safety and serenity, people live in fear of being exposed. What if they find out I've been faking it all along? What if they find out my real feeling?"

"There was no changing Aki's feeling. Her version of events was inscribed in kanji on a tombstone in her heart ... She was not impressed when I came home reeking of booze and cigarettes after nights out with the boys. She didn't view Japan as her playground, as we did. It wasn't Fantasy Land for her. It was a castle wall of cold stone reality surrounding her with serious family matters."

---

Dieser Download kann aus rechtlichen Gründen nur mit Rechnungsadresse in A, B, CY, CZ, D, DK, EW, E, FIN, F, GR, H, IRL, I, LT, L, LR, M, NL, PL, P, R, S, SLO, SK ausgeliefert werden.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Christopher Johnson
• Erscheinungstermin: 3. April 2013
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781301020423
• Artikelnr.: 48176816

Autorenporträt

Christopher J. Johnson is a journalist, musician, sports photographer and author of Siamese Dreams (a new life in Thailand), Kobe Blue (set amid Japan's earthquake disaster) and Freedom's Rainbow (a romantic search across Latin America).

Fluent in Japanese, Thai and Spanish, he did hundreds of live TV reports, photos and features from more than 100 countries and 10 wars for CTV, DW, France24, CBC, BBC, CNN.com, AP, New York Times, Toronto Star, CSM, SCMP and others. He photographed mass graves and disasters; reconstructed massacres in Yugoslavia and East Timor; met suicide bombers in Baghdad; and escaped from terrorists and kidnappers in Afghanistan, Aceh and Mindanao. The lone journalist in Lhasa during the 2008 Tibetan Uprising, he moved images that Reuters listed among their Pictures of the Decade. After covering the 2011 tsunami and nuclear meltdown, his detention at Narita airport and expulsion from Japan inspired investigations into its secretive "Gaijin Gulag" for The Economist, Asia Times, DW and others.

An avid tennis player and guitarist/vocalist, Johnson wrote and recorded more than 30 songs and worked with bands Big Sugar, New Kings and Lemon Bucket Orkestra (Canada/USA), Rockestra and Monks on Fire (Thailand), Emperor (Myanmar), Blankey Jet City and Sherbets (Japan).

Johnson's works are collected at

https://cjinasia.bandcamp.com

http://www.globalitemagazine.com

http://www.grandslammagazine.com

Johnson is credited with breaking major stories including the errant bombing of civilians in Afghanistan, the rise of female fedayeen suicide bombers in Baghdad, and the Tibetan Uprising in Lhasa, where he moved images that Reuters named among their Pictures of the Decade. He covered the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster for CTV, DW, France 24 and many others before being jailed and expelled from Japan on Christmas Eve 2011, resulting in his investigative series about Japan's secretive "Gaijin Gulag" for The Economist, Asia Times, DW and others. [1]

Wikipedia uses his photos of soccer star Lionel Messi; NBA players Kevin Durant, Tony Parker, Andrei Kirilenko, Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and others; and tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Caroline Wozniaki, Agnieszka Radwanska, Vera Zvonareva and others. [2]

He covered conflicts around Thailand in 1988, the Japanese asset bubble 1989-91, the Yugoslav war 1991, the Kobe earthquake, 1995,...