fridays in kamakura

Today I finished reading Fridays in Kamakura: The Case of Zen and Zucchini and Other Stories.  It is the sequel to Thursdays in Yokohama: The Casebook of Irving and Innocence by Wm (Wilhelmina) Penn, which I wrote about in this March post.

Like the earlier collection of stories featuring Innocence (a relative newcomer to Japan) and Irving (an "old Japan hand"), Fridays in Kamakura offers humorous insights into Japanese culture. In this sequel, however, the recurring theme is "second year syndrome," a very real and tough stage of many an expat's Japan experience, and not exactly a laughing matter. But Irving reminds Innocence (and us) to approach all such trials with a sense of humor and lots and lots of alliteration. :p