The Baseball Widow Review
by Linda A. Gould
by Linda A. Gould
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One bit of advice that writers often hear is, “Write what you know,” and Susanne Kamata seems to have taken that advice to heart. She provides insight into the life and culture of Japan that only a long term resident of that country can offer. She is in an intercultural marriage, and can, therefore, reveal details of relationships with spouses, in-laws, and neighbors that even people like me, who have lived in country for more than 20 years, can never fully understand without a Japanese family. Kamata is the mother of two children, and she writes with authenticity about life with a deaf child living with cerebral palsy because it is the life her own daughter lives.
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The Baseball Widow is fiction, but it so deftly includes elements of Kamata’s own life that it is hard to see the story as anything other than a memoir. From the first chapter, Kamata’s characters are as real and alive as if meeting them at a house party she is hosting, and it is obvious that she cares deeply for each character, unfolding the depths of their natures, as if carefully and respectfully unwrapping a gift from a valued friend.
The story centers around Christine and Hideki. Hideki manages a high school baseball team, and it is his dream, no his obsession, to have the team win Japan’s national baseball tournament. As is so often the case in Japan, Hideki devotes more and more time and energy to his work, straining his marriage and leaving Christine to care for their disabled daughter and sensitive son. The scenes where they do interact are often tense, with them disagreeing about how to raise their children. But Kamata tells the story from the viewpoint of both characters, revealing what is so often missing in stories about troubled relationships; namely that every incident in every relationship is seen through different perspectives, and both perspectives are accurate. Hideki is not simply a foil for Christine’s story, although she is the main character. Instead, we learn in detail about the difficulties he faces with fellow coaches, frustration with having a foreign wife, his love for his family, and why he disagrees with his wife. We come away from this story with a fondness for each character, even if we disagree with their actions.
Kamata develops a subplot between Daisuke, a teen returning from the United States, and Nana, a teenage outcast with big ambitions. By choosing a Japanese returnee to highlight the cultural differences between Japan and the US, Kamata is able to provide commentary about the difference between the two countries regarding schooling, freedom of expression, individualism, self-confidence, and even marriage. She even manages to seamlessly include social commentary on the Japanese hierarchical system that prevents social mobility. Nana, whose father left her family and whose mother works in a bar, has aspirations to escape her poverty and become a singer. She has the talent, she has the drive, but, without giving away the ending, we learn she has many more obstacles to overcome than the more well-off students at her school.
The Baseball Widow is a good read. If you know Japan, you’ll recognize a lot of Kamata’s details and perhaps feel a little 懐かしい. If you are unfamiliar with Japan, you’ll learn about a culture that is notoriously difficult to see behind the tatemae (the public view). For that alone, Kamata deserves kudos.
The story centers around Christine and Hideki. Hideki manages a high school baseball team, and it is his dream, no his obsession, to have the team win Japan’s national baseball tournament. As is so often the case in Japan, Hideki devotes more and more time and energy to his work, straining his marriage and leaving Christine to care for their disabled daughter and sensitive son. The scenes where they do interact are often tense, with them disagreeing about how to raise their children. But Kamata tells the story from the viewpoint of both characters, revealing what is so often missing in stories about troubled relationships; namely that every incident in every relationship is seen through different perspectives, and both perspectives are accurate. Hideki is not simply a foil for Christine’s story, although she is the main character. Instead, we learn in detail about the difficulties he faces with fellow coaches, frustration with having a foreign wife, his love for his family, and why he disagrees with his wife. We come away from this story with a fondness for each character, even if we disagree with their actions.
Kamata develops a subplot between Daisuke, a teen returning from the United States, and Nana, a teenage outcast with big ambitions. By choosing a Japanese returnee to highlight the cultural differences between Japan and the US, Kamata is able to provide commentary about the difference between the two countries regarding schooling, freedom of expression, individualism, self-confidence, and even marriage. She even manages to seamlessly include social commentary on the Japanese hierarchical system that prevents social mobility. Nana, whose father left her family and whose mother works in a bar, has aspirations to escape her poverty and become a singer. She has the talent, she has the drive, but, without giving away the ending, we learn she has many more obstacles to overcome than the more well-off students at her school.
The Baseball Widow is a good read. If you know Japan, you’ll recognize a lot of Kamata’s details and perhaps feel a little 懐かしい. If you are unfamiliar with Japan, you’ll learn about a culture that is notoriously difficult to see behind the tatemae (the public view). For that alone, Kamata deserves kudos.
Note: White Enso received a copy of this book for review. The review is unpaid and Linda A. Gould’s personal opinion.
Linda Gould is an American and long-time resident of Japan. Her fiction and non-fiction have been published in media outlets around the world. Gould is the editor of White Enso, an online journal of creative work inspired by Japan, and host of “Kaidankai,” a podcast of supernatural stories.
Linda Gould is an American and long-time resident of Japan. Her fiction and non-fiction have been published in media outlets around the world. Gould is the editor of White Enso, an online journal of creative work inspired by Japan, and host of “Kaidankai,” a podcast of supernatural stories.