Book Review: Gasa-Gasa Girl

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Gasa-Gasa Girl     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Naomi Hirahara
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Ethnic
Delta, Apr 2005, $12.00

In Altadena, California, elderly Japanese-American widower Mas Arai lives alone nurturing the plants in his gardens. His daughter Mari resents him because he never was there for her and she believes his beloved plants came before her. Mas never understood his only child as he could spend hours looking at the beauty of a flower while she could not sit for more than a nano second. Their estrangement is wider than the cross continental geographical distance between them even with her residing in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.

However, perhaps for the first time in their relationship or at least that he recognized, Mari needs him so he goes to New York. Mas learns how much he has missed out on his daughter’s life when Mari introduces him to her spouse Lloyd and his grandson. He is disappointed that Mari only wants him here for his gardening skills for the Waxley Garden community project that Lloyd's boss Kazuhiko "Kazzy" Ouchi sponsors. When someone murders Kazzy, Mas discreetly observes that the police suspect Mari and Lloyd killed the victim; so he begins his own inquiries.

The sequel to the delightful SUMMER OF THE BIG BACHI, GASA-GASA GIRL is a terrific who-done-it starring a wonderful protagonist who brings to life the first generation Japanese-American subculture. Mas, a survivor of Hiroshima, and his daughter Mari see life differently; he leisurely strolls at the pace a flower will move on a windless day while she is a wind tunnel. Mas’ reaction to Brooklyn is priceless and his inconspicuous investigation into the homicide is a fantastic amateur sleuth inquiry that feels genuine. Readers will demand more Mas novels from refreshing author Naomi Hirahara.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner