Whittier Treat has obviously done his homework, it is obvious that painstaking research has gone into this book. This, naturally, means that at times it can be very dry. One wonders how the wonderfully colourful lives of his subjects can be so two-dimensional on paper. However dry this book is, it is a must-read for anyone who is interested in comtemporary Japan, just because it is full of such detail. One cannot hope to understand the mind of the Japanese youngster without having some idea of the images they have been bombarded with from birth. This book gives excellent analysis. Just remember to drink lots of caffeine if you are planning to take it in large doses.

Reading everyone's comments of this book, I realize how controversial this piece must be and is in reality. That NO ONE rates this book anything but a 1 or a 5 speaks to its strong nature. You either love it, find meaning in it; or are repulsed by it. Speaking as a white American lesbian who has been studying queer culture in Japan and has also visited Japan, I am completed horrified by the certainity with which Treat dabbles in topics of enormous proportion. Why write a memoir if you are supposedly addressing so many key issues of social concern unless you are actually going to address them?! Besides that fact, he never once seems to apologize or doubt his masculinist and racist grip on his material. He is always a spectator, always the man behind the controls. It is sickening really. I have only read half of this book, but as I read, I read to see how much more I can become baffled at his arrogance of subject matter. His treatment of each subject, at best, leaves me cold and wondering why he even bothers to make it seem like he cares. It seems like a completely narcissistic attempt to get through some clearly lingering white suburban American guilt. I don't think the fact that queers in America have become involved with Asian Studies because is it an Orientalist gaze get's to be made into a "duh" statement or be left unquestioned. It is NOT ok, and DOES need to be discussed, not just left for stereotyping or pigeon-holing. The only part of this book that I can remotely enjoy is references to a country that I miss and experiences that may seem similar, but do not somehow excuse themselves as "boys will be boys" or some crap like that. Very disapppointing perspective, yet almost predictable from a white gay male with so much arrogance.

I realize that, for far too long, gay men and lesbians were marginalized or erased by the ubiquitous heterosexualization of scholarly discourse. I also realize that the crisis of subjectivity of the 1980's and 1990's caused many social scientists to critique the idea of the disinterested scholar and subsequently incorporate themselves into their research, making a veritable fad out of auto-ethnography. But enough is enough.

This book is not about homosexuality, Orientalism, or Japan per se. It is about the author's personal experiences as a Western gay man living in Japan. You should consider writing an autobiography only if you 1) are famous; 2) have had REALLY fascinating experiences; or 3) can connect your experiences to greater social and political issues. Since Treat is not famous, and being gay doesn't count as fascinating anymore, he should really have concentrated on #3.

For the reviewer from Mars: This book is a subjective account of life in Japan during the time of AIDS. This is not meant as a depiction of gay and lesbian Japanese life, no could it be. The Japanese misperception of American life is echoed in this review.

I found this book soul-baring and intense. Well done!