New Travel Book: ‘Bar Flower’

Travel Blog • Frank Bures • 05.21.08 | 1:40 PM ET

Full title: “Bar Flower: My Decadently Destructive Days and Nights as a Tokyo Nightclub Hostess”

Released: April 15, 2008

Travel genre: Expats behaving badly

Territory covered: Japan

Promo copy: “Though fascinated by Japanese language and culture, American Lea Jacobson had some difficulty conforming to Japan’s rigidly structured society. After she was fired from her job as an English teacher, Lea found work as a nightclub hostess on Tokyo’s Ginza strip and transformed herself into a doll-like confection whose job it was to flatter, flirt, and engage in mock relationships with her middle-aged clients. Working as a hostess—the occupation a direct descendant of the geisha tradition—quickly became lucrative ... and addictive.”

Critical verdict: “What saves this youthful memoir from being a dreary litany of boozy nights spent entertaining drunken big-spenders at Tokyo clubs is American translator Jacobson’s knowledge of Japanese culture and language.” (Publishers Weekly) “Self-absorbed even by the standards of this genre, her debut memoir intrigues because it opens a window into a little-seen portion of Japanese culture: ‘the floating world’ of transience and personal gratification, in notable contrast to the salaryman’s unchanging world of duty and service. Colorful portraits of her adopted culture and the men she dated eventually bring Jacobson’s tell-all to life.” (Kirkus)

Find it: Amazon, Chapters, Powells