“Karin Muller achieves a kind of harmonic ‘wa’ in this year in Japan by following that most intense journey, that of the self, in extremity. Whether challenged by the rigors of living in the hermetic world of a Japanese family, or flung about with an island cult, she maintains her composure and delight, and so do we.” —Jacki Lyden, NPR senior correspondent and author of Daughter of the Queen of Sheba
“Muller is brash, intrepid . . . She’s determined not only to track down what remains of traditional Japan but also to experience it herself–perhaps not the best way to find harmony, but certainly a better route to an entertaining book.” —The New York Times Book Review
