''Shopping'', is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

by British author Gavin Kramer, published in 1998 by Fourth Estate. It won the David Higham Prize, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, and was short-listed for the Whitbread First Novel Award.

Plot Introduction

Tall, awkward Meadowlark, an English lawyer is determined to make a success of his two-year assignment in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

. He appears dull, infallible and incorruptible; immune to the temptations of the

Roppongi is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the affluent Roppongi Hills development area and popular night club scene. A few foreign embassies are located near Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike. It ...

nightlife. But then he meets Sachiko - a fashion obsessed teenager who leads him on an expensive buying spree. Eventually, Sachiko meets a richer sponsor and Meadowlark falls apart.

Reception

Reviews were generally positive : *

Francine Prose Francine Prose (born April 1, 1947) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic. She is a visiting professor of literature at Bard College, and was formerly president of PEN American Center. Life and career Born in Brookl ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "Kramer's vision and analysis of Japanese society are neither especially profound nor revelatory, but his book is a great deal of fun"..."Kramer has a sharp ear for the hilarious conversations that take place when the participants speak just enough of the same language to make themselves hopelessly misunderstood. His energy is infectious, and at times his writing is not merely breathless but exhilarating as he conveys the experience of ricocheting through the sensory overload of Tokyo." but then warns, "The highly charged prose style of ''Shopping'' can carry you, quite contentedly, through much of the book. It's not until the last third or so, when the plot spins out of control and begins to fall apart, the reader finally notices that the characters lack the individuality and depth required to make fiction seem driven by psychological necessity rather than by the arbitrary, dogged application of the author's will." She concludes "Gavin Kramer is talented. He can really write, and ''Shopping'' promises that—in the near future, one hopes—he will write a consistently satisfying novel. *

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

has a similar conclusion, "Images of Tokyo today are engagingly rendered with precision and a knowing eye, but the characters in this flashy pool all stick to the shallow end.

Publication history

*1998, UK, Fourth Estate, , Pub date Jun 1998, Paperback *1999, UK, Fourth Estate, , Pub date Apr 1999, Hardback *1999, UK, Fourth Estate, , Pub date Apr 1999, Paperback *2000, US, Soho Press, , Pub date Apr 2000, Hardback *2003, US, Soho Press, , Pub date Jul 2003, Paperback www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
Retrieved 2014-04-15.

External links

References

{{Reflist 1998 British novels Novels set in Tokyo 1998 debut novels Japan in non-Japanese culture Fourth Estate books