David Burleigh from the
Japan Times has named Amélie Nothomb's
Tokyo Fiancée one of the best books of 2009. Meanwhile, (unofficial) word has it that Amélie's story of love in the land of the rising sun has been nominated for the
Three Percent Best Translated Book award.
from Japan Times
"Fate, renowned for it sense of humor, decreed that I should be born Belgian," writes the quirky Francophone novelist
Amelie Nothomb, who was actually born in Kobe, and came back to Japan as an adult. "Before Japan, I'd never thought about writing seriously," claims the now-successful author of two-dozen books, this being the second to deal with her short-lived return. The odd mixture of nostalgia for the land of her childhood, engagement in every sense, and finally recoil, is eagerly recounted. Mount Fuji may be a dormant (not a "dead") volcano, but Nothomb's tale is a spirited, refreshing, highly entertaining read.
