Product Description

Edgy, commercial literary first novel set in a hostess bar in Osaka, Japan.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #492666 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 329 pages

The Times, February 4, 2006
'Pace and excitement of a thriller... Funny, crisply written and engaging'

Scottish Daily Record
'Sayonara Bar is a showpiece of breathtaking new talent.'

Rebecca Pearson, Independent on Sunday, Books of the Year.
'A beautifully written and far-reaching exploration of Japanese culture from first-time novelist Susan Barker.'

Customer Reviews

A mixed bag
`Sayonara bar' is Susan Barkers first novel, and one has to admire her bravery in debuting with a book set entirely in Japan having spent just two years of her life there. The book centers around a hostess bar in Osaka and features three characters associated with it. Each of these characters essentially have their own story and the chapters rotate through them, although the stories are all closely connected.

Until the latter stages `Sayonara bar' is little more than an account of modern Japan in the eyes of a visiting westerner, and although it is well written and it appears slightly two-dimensional and gives little attention to the traditional Japanese culture which remains highly prevalent. Failing to incorporate the rich cultural background detracts heavily from the book, and Barker would have been better off setting the story in a less exotic setting where this omission is less noticeable.

The plot progresses at a plodding pace when it finally gets going. This makes it all the more frustrating when the ending fizzles out with many questions unanswered and those which are, highly unfulfilling. I imagine Barker is attempting to add a sort of mysticism to her novel but this falls short.

On a more positive note the character development is excellent and the book itself is very well written. She also cleverly changes the writing styles for the different storylines and is competent is delivering the plot in the three different formats. Barker does a fine job at mixing dark comedy with drama and makes a good stab at suspense, ending chapters at tantalizing but not irritating times, before switching storylines.

Despite its poor ending, I did enjoy reading `Sayonara Bar'. Susan Barker is clearly a talented author but I feel she overreached herself with this book. I will read `The Orientalist and the Ghost' (her next novel) when it is published next year. The title has Japanese connotations again and I hope it delivers more substantially than `Sayonara Bar'.

Sayonara bar - a review
This was a quirky and quite engrossing read with three separate but eventually intertwining stories centred around the Sayonara bar.Each story had an existential element to it which certainly added to the off-beat nature of the whole novel.The only problem for me was that all the unusual events and sinister happenings didn't really pay off with a satisfying ending.The three stories failed to live up to their early potential and finished with a wimper rather than a bang which,for me,lost a deserved fourth star.There was much to enjoy though as the prose was interesting and quite quirky in itself, the characters were well developed and rounded and there was rarely a dull moment.
All in all an enjoyable but flawed debut.

Terrific Book
This is the best piece of popular fiction I have read in a very long time. The fact that it is a first novel is incredible given the competence and scope of the writing. This young lady has a terrific career ahead if she can maintain this standard of work. And I'm sure she shall.