Gina in the Floating World by Belle Brett
Published by She Writes Press on September 25, 2018
Pages: 328
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A bank internship in Japan’s booming 1981 economy is supposed to be twenty-three-year-old Dorothy Falwell’s ticket into a prestigious international MBA program. But the internship is unpaid—so, to make ends meet, she accepts an evening job as a hostess in a rundown suburban bar, a far cry from the sensuous woodblock prints she’s seen of old Tokyo’s “floating world.”
Like her namesake, Dorothy hasn’t planned on the detours she encounters in her own twisted version of Oz. Renamed Gina by her boss, she struggles with nightly indignities from customers and confusing advice from new friends. Then her internship crumbles and the suave but mysterious Mr. Tambuki offers help. How can she resist?
With patience and the utmost respect for her opinions, Mr. Tambuki lures her into his exotic world of unorthodox Zen instruction, erotic art, and high-octane sex. Soon, bizarre sexual escapades with monks, salarymen, and gangsters begin to feel normal until one of her clients goes too far, and Dorothy realizes she’s in over her head. But can she find her way back from this point of no return?
BookSparks often has blog book tours or book challenges that span over the course of a season, or just a few books. Today’s book, Gina in the Floating World by Belle Brett, is a book that is part of this year’s BookSpark Book Tour called the #NSFW – the Not Safe For Work Blog Tour!! At first, I was a bit reluctant since I’m really not a fan of anything labeled “erotica,” but once I read the synopsis of this book, I knew I’ be okay.
It’s 1981, 23-year old Dorothy Falwell (“Dee Dee”) has come to Japan for a banking internship to help her get some international banking experience with the hope of increasing her chances of getting into a coveted MBA program at Wharton. After her housing situation falls through, Dee Dee is desperate to find income to make ends meet, so she takes on a position as a ‘hostess’ at a seedy bar. Her boss gives her a “stage name” of sorts – Gina – after his favorite actress, Gina Lollobrigida. Gina starts working at the bar dealing with crude customer comments, flirting and singing karaoke. While at first it’s harmless work, Gina is lured into the exotic/erotic entertainment of male clients – going out on dinner dates where male customers pay for her time.
The internship falls to the wayside as Gina meets an older gangster guy who is really interested in her. and pays her well for the time they spend together. The lure of money, gifts and sexual desires ends up causing Gina to lose the internship and “dating” multiple clients as she enters the world of prostitution.
Belle Brett is a great storyteller as she shares this coming of age story with readers. I loved how Brett provides readers with very fascinating insights into the underworld of Japanese culture throughout the story. I can’t wait to see what Brett writes next!
Belle Brett is a proud graduate of Grub Street’s Novel Incubator program. As a child, she produced what would now be called graphic novels, but alas, only the drawings remain as the words were strictly in the oral tradition. Now, several degrees and careers later (teacher, career counselor, researcher), she writes mostly novel length fiction (no pictures, but with a cinematic flavor) about coming of age across the life span. She holds a Doctorate of Education in Human Development and Psychology.
Her debut novel, Gina in the Floating World, will be published by She Writes Press on September 25, 2018. It is the tale of a young, naive Midwesterner who faces an uncertain future when, of her own volition, her job description changes from bank intern to whore in 1981 Tokyo. The story was inspired by Belle’s own experiences as a bar hostess in Tokyo several decades ago.
Belle regularly contributes to the blog Dead Darlings, a site devoted to “everything novel.” She also writes her own blog, My Slow Downsizing Story, and from 2009 to 2013 (and maybe later, as the mood strikes), she maintained another blog, Musings from the Third Half. Her short story, Heartbreak Hotel, about the same protagonist, was published in Del Sol Review.
In addition to writing, she is an artist and enjoys traveling and dancing with her husband and aging contemporaries to live music in the dive bars of Somerville and Cambridge, Massachusetts. All of it is grist for her writing mill.
Connect with Belle:
WEBSITE // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // INSTAGRAM
I was provided with a complimentary paperback copy of this book from BookSparks in exchange for my post. No positive review was required.
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