Taroko Gorge - Softcover

Ritari, Jacob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1936071657 ISBN 13: 9781936071654

Publisher: Unbridled Books, 2009

Synopsis

A disillusioned and raggedy American reporter
and his drunken photojournalist partner are the last
to see three Japanese schoolgirls who disappear
into Taroko Gorge, Taiwan’s largest national park.
The journalists—who are themselves suspects—
investigate the disappearance along with the girls’
homeroom teacher, their bickering classmates,
and a seasoned and wary Taiwanese detective.
The conflicts between them—complicated by
the outrageousness of the photographer and the
raging hormones of the young—raise questions of
personal responsibility, truthfulness, and guarded
self-interest.
The world and its dangers—both natural and
interpersonal—are real, changing, and violently
pressing. And the emotions that churn in dark
rooms overnight as the players gather in the park
visitors’ center are as intense as in any closet
drama. There’s enough action and furor here to
keep readers turning the pages, and the cultural
revelations of the story suggest that the human
need for mystery outweighs the desire for answers.

About this title

About the Author

Jacob Ritari has studied with the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist organization in Taiwan and studied Japanese language and literature at Japan s Sophia University. He lives near New York City.

Reviews

Two drunken Americans stumble into trouble in Taiwan in Ritari's uneven debut. Peter Neils, a jaded middle-aged journalist, and Josh Pickett, a young photographer with half-baked Buddhist pretensions, are on assignment in Taiwan and, on an off day, take a pleasure trip to Taroko Gorge. While enjoying a beer-fueled jaunt through the canyon, the men cross paths with three singing Japanese girls who have broken away from the rest of their class, which has traveled to Taiwan on a senior trip. When the girls don't meet up with the rest of the class at the appointed time, Peter and Pickett volunteer to stay and help the despondent teacher search for his missing students. Add to the mix a small group of students who decide to stay at the gorge, the shifting suspicions of a hard-boiled detective, and a typhoon, and the narrative becomes quite tense. Narration duties are shared by several characters, but the older characters don't work as well--Peter's crustiness, for instance, is not quite convincing. The atmosphere is nicely done, but the big reveal is a let down.
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Ritari’s first novel is an atmospheric thriller set in a secluded national park in Taiwan where two American journalists, who are between assignments, and a group of Japanese teenagers on a school vacation become trapped after three of the girls go missing and a deadly cyclone bears down on the park. The story is told from the first-person points of view of several of the characters, including one of the journalists, the investigating police officer, and several of the schoolkids. This lends an immediacy to the plot and also increases the psychological tension—are each of these narrators reliable? By trapping the teens and journalists in the park, Ritari sets up a traditional country-house plot, but his unique setting and unusual characters make it far different from your average cozy. A promising debut. --Jessica Moyer

Edition details

• Publisher: Unbridled Books
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1936071657
• ISBN 13: 9781936071654
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256