Kabuki Boy

Set during Japan's Tokugawa era (1600-1868), Besserman's novel explores the declining social status of the samurai class through the lens of Myo, the bastard son of a geisha. Although historical context drives much of the plot, the core story focuses on Myo's personal adventures, large and small, as he moves through society. In the background, an unfolding revolution proves both pivotal and incidental to Myo's story%E2%80%94much as the larger events of our lives become fully decipherable only in retrospect. We follow him as he tries on different roles: apprentice to a physician; store clerk-in-training; kabuki boy. In this final job, Myo finds himself in a position straddling influence and impotence. In these opaque echelons of Japanese society, Myo consorts with the same samurai to whom he has spent his whole life in subservience. Told through several perspectives%E2%80%94in letters and in the form of Myo's diary%E2%80%94the novel has the presence and solidity of an historical artifact, but humanity and its accompanying emotions%E2%80%94regret, humility, filial respect, burgeoning sexual love, purpose, and belonging%E2%80%94are ultimately what draw the reader into Myo's intriguing world. (Apr.)