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“Roger Pulvers’ life reads like an adventure story. His recollections of life in Japan in the 1960s are bound to become a part of Japan’s national heritage,” Ryuichi Sakamoto, musician and composer.
Book Description:
Tokyo Performance is set in the pre-internet age, brilliantly captures the zeitgeist of Japan at the time. In this riveting, entertaining and wholly poignant tale, a Japanese celebrity receives a phone call while live on air that will change his life forever. Nori, a high profile Tokyo-based celebrity chef with his own weekly television show, is famous and beloved and he knows it—but he’s about to put in his strangest performance.
Roger Pulvers, brings his love and deep fascination for Japanese culture to Tokyo Performance, a funny and, at times, tragic story, which explores the cost of fame.
Books on Asia’s Take
In this 58-page short-story, a part of the Red Circle Minis series, Pulvers brings us into the troubled life of a TV co-host in a humorous, whimsical way that seems utterly believable despite its absurdity. A quick, fun read.
About the Author: Roger Pulvers is an author, playwright, theater director, and translator. He has published more than 50 books in Japanese and English, including novels, essays, plays, and poetry. His first book, a collection of short stories, On the Edge of Kyoto, was published in 1969 two years after he first came to Japan. His recent novel, Hoshizuna Monogatari (Star Sand), which he wrote in Japanese, was published by Kodansha in 2015 and subsequently in English in 2016.
Pulvers is the recipient of several literary prizes, including the Kenji Miyazawa Prize (2008) and the Noma Award for the Translation of Japanese Literature (2013).