Alan Brown Criticism
Alan Brown's novel Audrey Hepburn's Neck, published in 1996, offers a reflective exploration of cultural identity and personal growth through the eyes of Toshi, a young illustrator from rural Japan who is fascinated by American culture. Set in Tokyo, the novel chronicles Toshi's life as he navigates relationships with various American expatriates, including an English teacher named Jane, with whom he becomes romantically entangled. Critics have generally praised the novel for its nuanced portrayal of Japan, a testament to Brown's own experiences living and teaching there for seven years. The narrative is marked by its humor and intricate themes, though some reviewers, such as Elizabeth Ward, have noted issues with Brown's prose, describing it as occasionally overburdened by thematic ambitions. Despite such criticisms, the novel's portrayal of Japan avoids stereotypes, earning commendations for its authenticity, as highlighted by Pico Iyer. While David Galef found the storytelling somewhat flat, the novel remains recognized as a significant debut, with screenplay rights acquired by Wayne Wang, director of The Joy Luck Club. Ultimately, as noted by Jill Neimark, the novel is a "charming tale of human tragedy and hope," illuminating the complexities of cross-cultural experiences.
Contents
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Essays
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America, from Right to Left
(summary)
In the following positive review, Iyer praises Audrey Hepburn's Neck as an unstereotypical and intimate portrayal of Japan.
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Tokyo Prose
(summary)
In the following review, she lauds the imagery and figurative language in Audrey Hepburn's Neck but states that the book "sometimes staggers a bit under the weight of its author's desire to inject every possible theme into it."
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A Superficial Look inside '90s Japan
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In the mixed review below, Ward praises the plot and characters of Audrey Hepburn's Neck but faults Brown's prose. This novel about today's Japan resembles one of those intriguing little washi-paper-covered boxes that open to reveal a smaller box nestled inside, which contains another and another and so on down to the very last box, which might be as small as a lima bean. Reading Audrey Hepburn's Neck is like unpacking, one after the other, every received opinion of Japan current among its foreign residents in the past few years. You are amazed that so much can be squeezed into such a slim package, yet you close the book feeling oddly unsatisfied, surfeited on surface impressions.
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A Fascination for All Things Foreign
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In the review of Audrey Hepburn's Neck below, Donahue gives a brief description of the novel and provides background information on Brown.
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Audrey Hepburn's Neck
(summary)
Below, Galef provides a negative assessment of Audrey Hepburn's Neck. Toshi Okamoto, the hero of Alan Brown's first novel, is a hick from Hokkaido now living in Tokyo. His father runs a noodle shop back home; his mother left long ago to work in a rustic inn. Toshi has found his niche as a comic-strip artist by day and an English student by night, taking lessons at the Very Romantic English Academy. His small circle includes Paul Swift, a gay American advertising copywriter, and Nakamura, the comic-strip studio boss, whose idea of encouraging hominess in the office is to rent a pet dog by the hour. Toshi's own personal quirk is his fascination with Audrey Hepburn, which began when he first saw Roman Holiday at the age of 9. Since then, he's had a few foreign girlfriends, but nothing has prepared him for Jane Borden, his American teacher, who strikes up an acquaintance that ripens alarmingly into sadomasochistic sex. All of this is seen through the eyes of Toshi the naif, allowing Mr. Brown to slip in a lot of descriptions of modern Japan, from its comics-trip culture to the gay bar scene. Intercut with these present-day vignettes are Toshi's recollections of his lonely childhood, shadowed by the ever-present mystery of his mother's unhappiness. Yet most of the book remains curiously flat, and even its resolutions are somewhat tepid. If only Audrey Hepburn's Neck were as provocative as its title!
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Audrey Hepburn's Neck
(summary)
In the following positive review, Neimark states that "ultimately this charming tale of America and Japan is a tale of human tragedy and hope."
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America, from Right to Left
(summary)
- Further Reading