This was Jay McInerney's second book, following right after the terrific Bright Lights Big City, which was a huge hit. McInerney was at the top of the wave of new writers in the 80's along with Tama Janowitz and Bret Easton Ellis. Ransom, along with Bright Lights was part of a series of Vintage Contemporaries, published by Random House. This series of trade paperbacks all had the same 80's "new wave" design on the covers, and introduced me to some favourite new authors such as Don DeLillo, Denis Johnson, Raymond Carver, Richard Russo, Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy and Seth Morgan. When I saw the distinctive spine and cover, I knew I would enjoy the book, even if it was a new author to me. (There is a great blog about the designers of these book covers here: http://talkingcovers.com/2012/09/12/ )
Ransom came out in 1985 on the heals of Bright Lights, and perhaps people wanted more of the same. Ransom has a different voice, and presents a different take on Japan. I carried this book around for a long time, and was also ready to give this a great review.
It is very well written, but there was something missing that prevented me from engaging.
Christopher Ransom is in Kyoto studying martial arts, hanging out with his friends and expatriates at a blues bar called Buffalo Rome, which accommodates the drifters flowing through Asia. He is unsettled as well, not getting involved with conflict, but finding himself in the middle of it. His friend, bar owner Miles Ryder, has a relationship and business, but seems as groundless in a culture in which he will always be an outsider. Ransom had endless karate practice, gets involved with a singer who is endangered by the Yakuza, and wanders around. I was bored with him most of the time and kept wondering where the story was going. I was constantly outside looking in, maybe that was the point.
There are however, a series of flashbacks where Ransom and two friends are in Kabul, which elaborate his journey to Kyoto. These and other memories seem like they are from a different book to me. Exciting, involving and intriguing, I wish the book was more in that direction.
Though full of well drawn characters, the nihilistic tone kept me from getting involved. All of this leads to a depressing, disappointing, tone-changing and sudden climax. It was, and still is, a little mystifying.
However, the fact that I am still thinking about Christopher Ransom and still bothered by the ending, says to me it was a full character who still lives on in my mind. Doesn't mean I have to like him though.
It's interesting to look at other reviews of this book which are polarized to "Five Stars - It blew my mind. A Massively under-rated classic" to simply "I just freakin' hated this book".
I am somewhere in the middle. I enjoyed the writing, but the story was often boring and irritating. And that ending---
However, it's not a book I would get rid of, and might even reread someday. Strange.
1985 / Paperback / 288 pages
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