SW Mindfulness Press, 2019 Paperback: 12.95
Reviewed by Ailee Slater
Part autobiography and part short story collection, Windows by Scott Wright offers a peek into the life of the author; in particular, his time as a university professor in Japan.
The book begins with a series of fictional works that take place in America, exploring themes of family, love and career through the eyes of young men who find themselves amidst a world of changing values. After this, Windows transitions into memoir—relating a collection of notebook entries written by Wright during his various teaching posts in Japan from 1979 to 1989. The final section of the book comprises short stories based on real events that occurred in Japan, giving Wright a creative platform to explore and consider his overseas experience through the medium of fiction.
Despite the blending of forms, Wright’s astute organization of the book alongside his elucidating notes to readers ensures that Windows can be enjoyed as one cohesive work. It is particularly fascinating to read the author’s slice-of-life observations about his time in Japan—from the rich descriptions of natural landscape to the character vignettes introducing various pupils and colleagues, to the reflections on cultural differences between Japanese and American college students. While the chapters in which the author explores ideas about the local psyche by inhabiting Japanese characters feel less effective, it is nevertheless interesting to hear his ruminations based on what was clearly a powerful intercultural experience. This is especially true where Wright shares vignettes around family dynamics, repressed violence, and women in the workplace; all of which are still very present on Japan’s modern cultural agenda.
Readers with an interest in Japan, or those who are curious as to how less-rigid memoir forms can be structured, will no doubt find plenty to engage with in Windows.