Humor Review: "Dave Barry Does Japan" by Dave Barry
  
  Dave Barry... his fabled name has appeared in newspapers across America, on a Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary, and three times in this paper so far. Working for the Miami Herald, he writes a weekly column to satire the world at large. But it was only recently that I first heard of his distinguished career in the literary field (as opposed to the commentary field or the corn field). Intrigued, I immediately realized that his works would be the ideal topic for this assignment. Thus, I dispatched an envoy of my scouts (i.e. my mom) to the nearest library to seek out one of his works. Thus did she return with a nice shiny copy of Dave Barry Does Japan, imported fresh from what must be almost a half-hour drive to the Washington's Citizen's Library.
  As it turns out, the whole book was more or less written as part of a free trip deal. Random House gives Dave Barry and his family (i.e. his wife, Beth, and his son, Robby) an all-expenses-paid free trip to Japan, and Dave writes a book about it. Not a bad deal, if you think about it. Anyway, to make a long story short, Dave tries a little bit of everything and then leaves. He then proceeds to write the book, and get paid.
  But enough about the details of the process itself: let's take a look at what Dave is DOING during his stay in Japan. Dave lands in Tokyo, completely in the dark about the Japanese language, and immediately realizes that he's the tallest person there. Not one to lose his great sense of humility, he spends the trip back to the hotel bowing repeatedly to everyone he meets while attempting not to look like TOO much of a water buffalo. He is quickly impressed by the excellent service that Japan, as a nation, offers. As he and his family begin their sight-seeing tour, it suddenly hits Dave that Tokyo is UGLY, being almost entirely built, "during what architectural historians refer to as the Age of Making Everything Look Like a Municipal Parking Garage, but Without the Warmth." They then proceed to get hopelessly lost, as the streets are generally unnamed and apparently randomly numbered. Stumbling into the Plastic Food District, they purchase a few specimens for later observation. Later, at the local restaurants, they learn of some of the current delicacies, such as fugu (a fish that kills you if prepares improperly) and live fish. Next, he goes on to describe some of the traditional Japanese art forms, such as Kabuki and a geisha ceremony, neither of which he likes. After a chapter devoted to the secrets of the Japanese industry, he goes on to describe the strange subjects of Japanese rock music and humor. Japanese sports are next up, followed by their visits to a peaceful Japanese inn (and the somewhat strange subject of the nearby hot springs), to Hiroshima, and to Mount Fuji. Then he ends the book with a conclusion comparing and contrasting the Japanese and American cultures one last time.
   I've said the book is funny. But I haven't said WHY it is funny. It seems to me that this is due largely to Dave's excellent sense of repetition and his witty wit. See, Dave seems to know exactly when to bring up something of which reference was made earlier, such as water buffalo, to make things FUNNY. And, for that matter, he knows WHAT to make reference to in the first place (such as the kanji system of Japanese characters). So it's funny.
  All in all, I'd say that Dave Barry Does Japan is a wonderful book. It's not for everyone, as he sometimes uses such bad words as *BLEEP*, *BLEEP*, and *BLEEP* to make his point. But, for anyone old enough to not be offended by his occasional peccadilloes of politeness (or, approximately, anyone in Kindergarten or beyond in today's [CENSORED] society), I would heartily recommend this book as offering an interesting look into Japanese society from someone who had just as little clue about it as you do. An excellent book.