A devilishly intelligent new novel by the internationally bestselling author and Prix Medicis winner
A black writer from Montreal has found the perfect title for his next book "I Am a Japanese Writer." His publisher loves it and gives him an advance. The problem is, he can't seem to write a word of it. He nurses his writer's block by taking baths, re-reading the Japanese poet Basho and engaging in amorous intrigues with rising pop star Midori. The book, still unwritten, becomes a cult phenomenon in Japan, and the writer an international celebrity. A Japanese writer publishes a book called "I Am a Malagasy Writer." Even the Japanese consulate is intrigued. Our hero is delighted--until things start to go wrong. Part postmodern fantasy, part Kafkaesque nightmare and part travelogue to the inner reaches of the self, "I Am a Japanese Writer" calls into question everything we think we know about what-and who-makes a work of art