Gasa-Gasa Girl

By: Naomi Hirahara

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

From the time she was a child, Mas Arai's daughter, Mari, was completely gasa-gasa - never sitting still, always on the go, getting into everything. And Mas, busy tending lawns, gambling, and struggling to put his Hiroshima past behind him, never had much time for the family he was trying to support. For years now his resentful daughter has lived a continent away in New York City and had a life he knew little about. But an anxious phone call from Mari asking for his help plunges the usually obstinate Mas into a series of startling situations, from maneuvering in an unfamiliar city to making nice with his tall, blond son-in-law, Lloyd, to taking care of a sickly child...to finding a dead body in the rubble of a former koi pond. The victim was Kazzy Ouchi, a half-Japanese millionaire who also happened to be Mari and Lloyd's boss.

Stumbling onto the scene, Mas sees more amiss than the detectives do, but his instinct is to keep his mouth shut. Only when the case threatens his daughter and her family does Mas take action: patiently, stubbornly tugging at the end of a tangled, dangerous mystery. And as he does, he begins to lay bare a tragic secret on the dark side of an American dream.... Both a riveting mystery and a powerful story of passionate relationships across a cultural divide, Gasa-Gasa Girl is a tale told with heart and wisdom: an unforgettable portrait of fathers, daughters, and other strangers.

©2005 Naomi Hirahara (P)2015 Audible Inc.

Book 2 of the Mas Arai series

The series continues, this time in New York where Mas's daughter is now living with her husband and infant son. He and his daughter Mari have always had a rocky relationship and had not spoken for several years. The day after Mas arrives in New York, Mari's husband's boss is murdered and she becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, his friend Tug is also visiting his daughter in New York who quit medical school to become an artist. The book tries to deal with this divide between fathers and children, the older generation and the next. However, since the book is told from Mas's point of view, I was left somewhat in the dark regarding his daughter's actions and thinking throughout the book. I hope we find out more about her side of the story in later books.

I Love Mas!

I am smitten with Mas Arai. His cantankerous, but nuanced experience as a immigrant and a survivor; his grudging care for his son-in-law and estranged daughter; and the opportunity to see the world through a viewpoint different from my own.

Naomi Hirahara writes effortless mystery and has a distinctive perspective that I always look forward to hearing. Narrator Brian Nishii fully inhabits Mas's character, you are utterly convinced he IS Mas.

Susie Bright likes it

I read this because I saw Susie Bright’s 5-star review. Since I’ve always had a huge crush on Susie (and because I recently finished Hirahara’s Clark and Division, which I loved), I followed her here and she was right: it’s a great book.