Ransom

by Jay McInerney

Since Christopher Ransom has been living in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, he has devoted himself to the study of karate. But soon he finds himself threatened by everything he thought he had left behind - a sequence of bizarre events whose consequences he cannot escape.

Genres: Fiction, Japan, Novels, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Literature, American

279 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

John Barrett McInerney Jr. is an American writer. His novels include Bright Lights, Big City, Ransom, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls, and The Last of the Savages. He edited The Penguin Book of New American Voices, wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film adaptation of Bright Lights, Big City, and co-wrote the screenplay for the television film Gia, which starred Angelina Jolie. He is the wine columnist for House & Garden magazine, and his essays on wine have been collected in Bacchus & Me (2000) and A Hedonist in the Cellar (2006). His most recent novel is titled The Good Life, published in 2006.

Reviews

[Glenn Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this novel set in Kyoto, Japan featuring 26-year old American Christopher Ransom and his practice of martial arts three time when first published as part of the Vintage Contemporary series back in 1988 and I just did read it yet again. Why do I find this book so absolutely fascinating? On reflection, here are a dozen reasons:

Mishima-like Purity
Yukio Mishama’s novel Runaway Horses takes place in 1932 and features 19-year old Isao Iinuma who seeks purity through the code of the samurai and his practice of martial arts. Eventually, in the name of purity, Isao commits seppuku (ritual suicide). McInerney’s main character Ransom (he doesn’t use Christopher since he hates the name) in many ways seeks a similar purity and transcendence, a purity separating himself from everyone and everything. Being a Westerner and living in a commercialized, homogenized, media-obsessed 1977 world culture makes Ransom’s quest a study in stark contrasts.

The Power of Dad
More than anything else, Ransom wants to separate himself from the secret schemes and theatrical power plays devised by his father in an attempt to manipulate his life. Meanwhile, his dad, Christopher Ransom Sr. (the big reason Ransom hates the name Christopher) tells his son directly, “You needs a certain kind of knowledge and power working for you.” Ransom doesn’t buy any of it since he sees his father as a serious artist and playwright who sold out to become a rich, big-time Hollywood producer of crap TV shows.

The Way of the Martial Artist
Ransom considered joining a Zen temple but found something even better – an impressive sensei running a karate dojo. Ransom believed he would become a different person if he kept training in karate under his sensei, that he could achieve self-mastery that would, among other benefits, reduce the complexity of his interacting with others. However, as it turned out, this sensei was one tough cookie, holding practice out on an asphalt parking lot, allowing kicks and punches to the head and insisting that a follower of the martial arts never break off an attack, no matter how weak or injured his opponent.

The Monk as Martial Artist
Ransom particularly admires Ito, the top student in the dojo, a karate student he sees as having the demeanor of a monk on Quaaludes, that is, as someone capable of always resting in his own peaceful center even when engaging in martial combat. By Ransom’s eye, Ito the monk moves like a cat floating on air and embodies greater possibilities than simply a champion excelling in a sport.

The Shadow Side of Martial Arts
Big, bulky Oklahoma born and bred Frank DeVito, ex-Marine, current Bruce Lee clone, needs combat for self-definition; as he observes: everything is real and alive when you are fighting. Not surprisingly, DeVito labels nearly everybody he sees, including Ransom, as prime enemies who must be conquered and destroyed. To his credit, Jay McInerney portrays Frank DeVito not only as the prototypical ugly American but also as a fully rounded character. Reading about Frank’s lowlife is a highlight of the story.

East meets West
Ransom’s friend Miles sells cowboy hat and cowboy boots and other American West paraphernalia to the Japanese, who can’t get enough of imitating American culture, even things like singing American jazz and American blues with a Japanese accent - one of the more humorous aspects of Jay’s novel. And there are a number of cultural zingers, for example, when Ransom spots a photo of his Japanese taxi driver with his arm around a prize American he once gave a ride in his taxi. And whose face did Ransom see in the photo? As Ransom tells us with wry humor: “There he is, Jack Nicklaus, a baby-faced god and credit to his race.”

Femme Fatale, sort of
Meet Marilyn, ravishing young lady and nightclub singer fresh from Vietnam, a lady tangled up with the Japanese mafia and in need of some serious help. Marilyn turns to Ransom, a man who can’t stand to see a damsel in distress, particularly when her distress could impact his friend Miles.

English for the Japanese
Ransom’s part-time job is teaching English to Japanese businessmen. The book is filled with American English rendered in tawdry Japanese, as in the writing on a high-end fashion shopping bag printed to resemble an English dictionary definition: “FUNKY BABE: Let’s call a funky girl “Funky Babe.” Girl, open-minded, know how to swing. Love to feel everything rather than think. They must all be nice girls.” Enough to drive a seeker of purity to drink, if that seeker drinks. Ransom usually does not.

Heartbreak on the Pakistan Border
4 of the book’s 31 chapters are set in 1975 Pakistan where Ransom is traveling with two fellow Westerners, one of which is Annette, a remarkably alive, dreamy blonde young French lady who picked up an addiction to heroin. And the more Annette spirals down into self-destruction as a junky, the more Ransom’s heart breaks. This Pakistan tragedy adds real depth of feeling to Ransom’s life unfolding in Japan.

Friendship on the Pakistan Border
The other Westerner forming this Pakistan threesome is Ransom’s friend, a delightful, happy-go-lucky young man by the name of Ian. Ian is a bold adventurer and travels solo into dangerous terrain to score some great dope and a part of Ransom travels with him. Again, the unfolding drama in Pakistan adds much depth.

Language and Rhythm
The language is crisp and clear; the sentences snap off like a string of Japanese firecrackers, which makes for a very pleasurable, entertaining read. This quality of Jay’s writing makes sense since the author honed his craft under the tutelage of the late 20th century master of crisp and clear - Raymond Carver.

Twists Both Unexpected and Expected
Yes, the story is filled with twists, both unexpected and expected – expected in the sense that at one point Ransom acknowledges: “Some things wouldn’t go away unless you face them head—on.” Sound like a dose of Eastern fatalism? You bet it does. Read all about it.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

So good until the final chapter basically ruins the entire book.

[AB · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending aside, I quite enjoyed the listless, foreign, and even detached style of the book.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow did I of all people not know that Jay McInerney wrote a novel about expats in Japan?

When I came across a used copy of Ransom recently, I had to read it. I think it's very much worth reading, but for the literary brat pack author's second novel it doesn't hold up well compared to his unique debut with Bright Lights, Big City.

The eponymous character Ransom is interesting, a rich kid running away by studying martial arts in 1970s Japan, is somewhat intriguing although indulgent. Lots of observations on the Japan scene from expats to locals (and lots of bad Engrish), with Vietnamese refugees looming as well.

Much of it did ring true, and McInerney seems to know his stuff when it comes to Japan. But the martial arts aspect didn't interest me, too much of how cool is for a white guy to work hard to train under a sensei. The plot with Ransom's family didn't engage me either. Overall, lots of snippets were good but as a novel I am left uncaring. Perhaps an anthology about the weird 70s Kyoto scene would have been better.

Still, as expat literature goes it is definitely required reading for historical reasons if nothing else.

[Rachel Louise Atkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird to read something so different from Jay but I liked it. This is about a guy called CHRISTOPHER* Ransom who is an American teaching English to businessmen in Japan and basically trying his best to stay out of trouble. There is still some of the witty humour from Bright Lights in here but a lot less of it, and having Japan as the setting definitely brings a refreshing edge to the story but also makes it a little less gratifying. This book felt a lot closer to his later work such as ‘The Good Life’ which is weird with Ransom being his second novel and knowing that he does return to American hedonism quite heavily in ‘Story of my Life’. Maybe this is just second book slump - not that it wasn’t good though. Need someone to talk to about the ending because what the actual fuck.

*ty CB

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was ready to give this a very positive review, to recommend it to my friends, until the last chapter. The book had that sense of insincere noir that's hard to hate. The easy jokes about Japanese English were there, but nothing overtly offensive. The characters were interesting, fun to be around/fun to hate. But that conclusion! So very disappointing, so anti-climactic.
But I suppose that fulfills a realistic ending to the very apathetic, aimless protagonist. In many ways I found Ransom himself to fit into the same mold of Murakami Haruki's protagonists: largely opinion-less in conversation, wandering around, staying out of conflict but finding themselves in the middle of it. All that said, I found the flashback story to be extremely interesting, and probably explains the disappointment of the conclusion. So maybe it's not the conclusion that's disappointing in the end. Maybe it's just the character. Maybe it's just Ransom's nihilism, his sadness in the face of possible joy. It just hurts to think about. And, in that, it's a very well-written character, and a very well-written narrative.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the 80s, everything Japanese was cooler, and there were lots of books about American expats "finding themselves" by going to Asia and learning Asian martial arts and Asian philosophy and basically being more Asian than the Asians. So this is about an American expat who hangs around with other expats even though he's "gone native" in Japan. It's got a decent pace and better-than-average writing, but the story was self-indulgent (like the main character), and an ending that left me thinking that the entire book was pretty pointless.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was almost good and then the end was incredibly, offensively stupid. Whoever blurbed it as “brilliant” should lose their job.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read all but one of McInerney's books now, and this is the only one I've really disliked. Too much martial arts, a pretty half-baked story, and one shitty ending add up to a bunch of blah blah blah. It did get me real interested in going to Kyoto though.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting over the fact that this book set in Japan would be about an American’s obsession with karate. I greatly preferred Story of My Life, a book in which McInerney makes a virtue of his general interest in shallow themes.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was in Japan in 1989 and marveled then at Mcinerney’s use of language and his deft delineation of character. Over the years the book stayed with me, not least because of its peculiarly painful plot twists and its unique setting.

Twenty-two years later the book has lost some of its charm and McInerney’s use of language is less innovative, but the story of a heartbroken young American seeking redemption through self-discipline in a Japanese karate dojo in Kyoto in 1984 is still compelling. Ransom has had a traumatic experience in Pakistan and is full of loathing for his father’s selfish TV business and the materialism of America. He is determined to become a karate master and has made enough progress in two years to impress his teachers and his colleagues. Suddenly things change with the appearance of Marilyn, a Vietnamese refugee who needs his help to avoid being sold into prostitution, and DeVito, a deranged ex-marine who wants Ransom to fight him.

This book deviates in many ways from McInerney’s usual themes: wealthy yuppies mesmerized by sex and drugs, their lives centered around viciously attacking each other. The description of Ransom’s karate classes and the city of Kyoto are so vivid that the author must have based these on personal experience.

The book was not a success (not even enough to get a Wikipedia entry) and most of my friends didn’t care for it, but I wish that McInerney had written more in this style.

[Lawrence Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely had the mid-eighties, over-confident American vibe to it. A friend attending Dartmouth College recommended it to me. Many Americans, myself included, were in awe of the rise of Japan's industrial might, and this book allowed folks who couldn't actually travel to Japan to enjoy the experience vicariously. A nice period piece, for sure.

[Frank R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I didn’t know what to think of this book. Ransom’s “exile” is more of a self-inflicted liminality or self-imposed Purgatory. We read much of his routine, his devotion to martial arts, and his social scene. Slowly, we are introduced to his family issues—dead mother, controlling father, a recurring theme for McInerney from Bright Lights, Big City—and his drug-running days in India. We learn about the tragic character of Annette; she is the reason he is in Japan and why he is dedicating himself to a fight with an enemy that may never arrive.

As you may predict, the enemy is himself and the fight is with his guilt, shame, and desire to transform himself into something new. For him, Japan is “a strange island kingdom at the edge of the world, a personal frontier, a place of austere discipline which would cleanse and change him” (73). Indeed, he came to Japan in a “fevered daze, oblivious to almost everything but his own pain and guilt…Ransom had lost his bearings spiritually, and he wanted to reclaim himself [with] a discipline rigorous enough [to] purge and change him” (77; 227).

The plot plods along but with beautifully austere, terse, and emotionally charged prose; I almost quit by page 160—not a ringing endorsement for a 4-star review, I know—but I am glad I hung in there. Seeking his “partial redemption” for Annette with Marilyn, he begins ro wonder if “there is no escape, and there are no real
quests” (247). There’s the nihilism I love from the Vintage Contemporaries! This book is ALL characterization (not to be confused with character development, although he does develop somewhat, or maybe simply revealed more as the narrative continues). You have to buckle up and enjoy the ride knowing it’s going somewhere even if it doesn’t feel like it at first. When the conflict begins to turn, you’ll know it, and you’ll thank me for telling you to not add this to the DNF pile.

Nearing page 200, I was hooked. The plod was worth it, the character development slow but building, and the resolution, a thing of shocking beauty. Ransom had been ready since page one for a piece of Satori, and having nothing, disciplining his mind and body, grieving his life’s course, and seeking freedom from his father’s machinations, he finds it in a battle of his choosing.

This book, along with the cover, are works of art which, like the kitanas (symbols of Japan and our characters) forged from layers of steel and sweat, show themselves as a thing of beauty in the world. The parallel symbol
of the dyed river cranes—red—exude a powerful natural image foreshadowing Ransom’s destiny in the last pages.

[Marija S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unexpectedly enjoyable read. The author is not only a talented storyteller who does everything just right and uses a language almost too beautiful for such a grimy novel, but he alsol obviously did a thorough background search without being too riddled with stereotypes. I particularly like the time period the plot is set in, as the 70ties in Japan amidst full economic growth must have been something else. Everything in this book is just as it should be, from the first till the last page.

4.5/5 stars only due to the fact it does not explore any deeper philosophy or idea (which is not necessarily a prerequisite for a good story!), except maybe - karma?

I see a lot of people comment how they hate the ending, but it only shows they did not pay attention throughout the novel and misunderstood it.

[Rob Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t love it the way I loved Bright Lights, Big City, but I did have a great time with it. What it boils down to is this is a listless young man’s fantasy—to be somewhat alone in a strange land burying your body and soul into an aimless code of discipline. Interesting meditations on honor especially with the backdrop of Japan.

[Niels · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite nicely written, but also quite pointless with quite a bad ending. So all and all not quite good.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You think we choose to do things. You think we control our fate."

I barely remember reading Bright Lights, Big City, but somewhere along the way I developed a vague impression of Jay McInerney as a benevolent, well-mannered version of Bret Easton Ellis; and so my expectations for Ransom (1985), his follow-up to Bright Lights, weren't very high. Maybe that's partly why I enjoyed it more than most reviewers here seem to have, but I think that's also selling it a little short. Ransom is about an American in his 20s named (yes) Christopher Ransom, son of a TV producer, who leaves the States for Kyoto in the late 70s. There he studies karate, teaches English, and searches for some elusive...thing. It's the kind of story that resonates with me so automatically that it's almost embarrassing, and I probably couldn't dislike it if I tried, but I can also concede that it's not the most original premise. It's also true that nothing much happens for a while, and what little plot there is initially seems contrived and hard to take seriously. The only real source of potential conflict early on, for example, comes from a character named DeVito, who hangs out at the same expat bar that Ransom frequents (but who studies at a rival karate dojo), and keeps challenging Ransom to a fight. But he's of course after more than a bar fight, he's after martial confrontation with all the archetypal and transcendent significance attendant to his karate-addled thinking. DeVito seems to have walked out of a bad martial arts movie, and it'd be easy to decide, especially early on, that McInerney's grasping at straws. I was ready to write a short review concluding that there are much better versions of this kind of story out there.

But there's a lot that I ended up liking, as well. Ransom initially didn't strike me as an especially compelling character (I know, I'm really selling the novel here), but his reasons for going to Japan are compelling. What he thinks he might get away from, how he thinks living there will change him, how he'd like to understand about the country "something beyond the conceptual frames he'd inherited"; even if, as for all of us and as the book suggests, there are also dreams and desires he's not especially conscious of. I enjoyed reading about most of the characters at the expat bar, especially a guy named Kano, the Japanese lead singer of a Blues cover band. Kano has a chance to go to Chicago to work on a documentary about the Blues, but towards the end of the novel he tells Ransom that he's hesitating: "It's a place in my head. I don't know if I want to go there." It makes for an interesting contrast with Ransom, whose desire has been to dissolve his mental image of Japan through immersion in the reality. 

McInerney's humor didn't always land with me, but the character of the Sensei (never named, just...the Sensei) was pretty hilarious, essentially stalking Ransom throughout Kyoto and reminding him to always be ready for combat. "You never know when I'll be behind you. Coming out of your house in the morning, rounding a corner downtown. I might be waiting underwater in the bath..." (we need more athletic guys who also smoke cigarettes by the way- it's something our culture has sadly moved away from). But he's not a caricature either, and the chapter where he and Ransom go to a bar and a bath house after practice could have been a Raymond Carverish short story in its own right. Not much happens, but I suddenly had the feeling that the Sensei was a real person who'd existed; there was something riveting about that. And then there are the brief chapters that flash back to Ransom's earlier traveling experience at the Khyber Pass. I haven't mentioned these chapters yet. Four of them in total, spread throughout the second half of the book, in which Ransom's Australian traveling companion Ian decides to take a trip over the mountains into Afghanistan to buy hash, while Ransom stays behind with a French girl named Annette, who's hooked on heroin. At first I resented the narrative intrusion and wanted to go back to Japan, where the story had just seemed to be picking up; but over the course of about twenty-five pages total, McInerney sketches one of the most horrifying scenarios I can remember reading, at least in fiction, outside of Paul Bowles. It feels as though it should be its own novel, but then again maybe it's best as the fragmentary and hauntingly ambiguous interlude that it is. It also creates an underlying sense of genuine menace that the novel up to that point had been lacking, and helps you to understand some of the choices Ransom makes later on.

It's admittedly a little jarring to leap from the Khyber Pass back to what can seem in comparison like the manufactured danger in Kyoto. But the very absence of danger is part of what McInerney's going for here. The absence of it, the way Ransom keeps courting it throughout the novel, and the repercussions of that courtship. In fact, the book really started to click for me when I began to suspect that, as ridiculous as DeVito seems compared to the stoic and self-disciplined Ransom, McInerney wanted us to notice that in some respects they aren't so different. That maybe they're driven by similar things. Not everyone will buy the big twist here, and I'd rather not say too much about it; but I think that aside from being audacious it's also thematically enriching and clarifying, in the sense that one of the underlying currents of the novel is about how deeply American culture had penetrated Japan by this point in history- from the Blues band at the expat bar to the businessmen Ransom teaches English to (on a personal level) the fact that Ransom actually sees his dad's name listed in the credits of a TV show playing in a restaurant across the street from karate practice. And there's something profound and darkly funny in the idea that it's penetrated so deeply that even what seem to be the organic rhythms of life in a foreign country come under suspicion, that even the dangers that present themselves seem to have been dreamed up by Hollywood: "Ransom wondered which movie DeVito was living out. All of them, maybe." 

More universally, it speaks to the way that living in a foreign country doesn't necessarily mean you escape the patterns of thought instilled by your home country, the influence of its self-told narrative and mythology on your life. Is there any real autonomy, or do these "conceptual frames" enfold and shape us no matter how far we go? Do we choose to do things? Do we control our fate? 

Nearly every reviewer here mentions that they hated the last chapter (though none of them say why), so I was perversely eager to reach the end and experience the big letdown for myself. But I wasn't disappointed by it, which was weirdly disappointing. You can view the ending through a satirical lens- as proof that there's no escape from recycled hackneyed plots- or you could view it with genuine pathos, or both. I could venture a guess about why people don't like it, though. It takes a little effort to understand why Ransom makes the choices he does, to see why this might have been the ending a part of him was always reaching for, and they aren't exactly pleasant thoughts to wrestle with. It's the kind of ending that clarifies the kind of book this was all along, and that's something that McInerney carefully (sometimes jarringly) keeps you off-balance about throughout. So you may have thought you were reading one kind of polite and familiar coming-of-age tale (and for a while I thought I was, too), but it's actually Paul Schrader.

[Nemo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring. It's a kind of a slice of life in a world where life is messed up and oddly out of touch with reality. I read Bright Lights, Big City a long time ago and loved it for that same feeling but I wonder now if it would stand up to a reread. This book ends with more questions than answers, and the way that it is written; non-linearly, makes the reader think that things will eventually be explained. They are not.

Another thing I dislike is the protagonists unreliability. He has all these grand standards that he has worked so hard to maintain for the duration of his time in Japan and yet all of that unravels in the last two chapters but without any reflection on that fact by the protagonist. It's all well and good to show a human being human but I felt like Ransom's friend Miles had more self introspection than Ransom did in the book, despite limited screen time, and in contradiction with the contrast of their supposed characters.

In the end it took me a long time to read this book, which is regrettable, as it leaves me feeling like I wasted my time on it. I didn't learn something about human nature, or the mechanics of writing, or even anything about how to tell a story. I was just bored.

[Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

After discovering McInernery via 'Bright Lights, Big City' I was disappointed in this book. There is still some worthwhile writing here but the book struggles to overcome cliché and a fairly daft kung-fu movie style nemesis. Modern readers are probably much more familiar with Japan and aspects of Japanese culture than when the book was published and it does seem very dated in places.

McInernery's prose is still very easy on the eye and this is a very easy read but whereas I found the voice in Bright Lights utterly authentic and engaging, I couldn't shake the impression that here was an author trying to prove he could do something totally different - and not really succeeding.

I am going to read the rest of his output thought. I bought four or five of the books at the same time when they were on offer and am reading them in order of publication. The synopses of the other books suggest that he returns to more familiar territory of contemporary American, big city life. Fingers crossed that will also mean a return to the form of his outstanding debut novel.

[Catalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not a full 5, but neither 4, so I rounded up to 5 :D
It's incredible how this book reminded me not of 1, not 2, but 3 books I read and enjoyed: with the Japanese atmosphere, Yakuza, illegal emigrants prostituting themselves, strange strangers with a taste for violence and death, and the solitary main character reminded me of Murakami's After Dark and Ryū Murakami's In the Miso Soup. While with the situation of gaijins in Japan and the drug story, of Karl Taro Greenfeld's Standard Deviations. But that doesn't mean this book was less original, it even managed to surprise me with the final(ok i admit i cheated and read the last line when I was in the middle of it, and i felt so sad, of all the possible endings I didn't anticipated that).
Same style of the Bright Lights, Big City, but this time a book in the 3rd person, even if at times the story seamed to turned to the point of view of the character and that was a little confusing(I especially hated the dialog in the 3rd person).
So far Jay McInerney didn't let me down, so I'll try another book of his!

[Preston · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointing for a Jay McInerney book. While I enjoyed the setting of Kyoto and reading descriptions of what it perhaps was like to live in Japan in the 1970s (a subject close to my heart for personal reasons) I feel that McInerney is at his best writing about actors, screenwriters, young professionals, etc, in New York or L.A. in the 1980s. This book is very sad, but one doesn't feel sympathetic enough with the main character--I think we're supposed to--and is always wondering why he's making certain decisions. Lastly, as many other reviewers mentioned, the ending was not satisfying at all.

[Blane Worley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although dated, the style was refreshing, entertaining. The plot and characters may have been tinged with cliche every now and then (often), but McInerney's presentation offered the material in a new light, under which I eagerly bathed. The plot twist at the end is close to predictable, but not quite. But that's not the point of the book. Don't dive into its quick pages in search of mystery, because you'll find disappointment. Instead, keep track the motions of the spoon as it's inserted into your mouth. Prepare to cry. All that entertainment rounds up in one final kick to the gut, one last bitter spoonful of food, on a fork, on a knife.

And laugh.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

McInerney's prose is straightforward, weighing heavily in favor of telling while showing mundane details that evoke less tangible emotions and impressions. At times, it felt like the story is reaching towards something that is not easy to capture. The ending left me puzzled, and more than a week later I find myself thinking about the book for short stretches of time, juggling this bit and that bit, seeing if I can't balance it out into a more concrete whole. For its inchoate sum, I hold this book in respectable esteem.

[Ned Miles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe the conceit of setting the story in Japan--paper houses and muted externalities--was intended to offset the lack of heft the characters carried. Maybe I just didn't get that part. But even with that taken into consideration, as well as the scriptwriting angle, the entire affair felt flimsy and I didn't care. The writing showed moments of flourish, but the story, woven of pure stereotype (again, I know that was 'the point'), never gripped me. Inoffensive for sure, though. Easy to read. Trite.

[Meg Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Having recently been welcomed into the expat lifestyle I enjoyed all of McInerney's references to it. As luck so has it I was an expat in Japan just as the characters of this novel and so delighted at every mention of familiar streets, mountains and ridiculous Japanese mannerisms. If you've ever been to Japan or lived abroad or if you simply have a mild interest in either of these things I think you will enjoy this book.

[Thomas Trang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book back in 2007 but recently got the Vintage Contemporaries edition. I couldn't remember much about what happens beyond the main character being self exiled to Japan, where he studies karate and has the occasional flashback to Afghanistan where bad stuff went down.

Turns out that there's not a whole lot else to remember. The writing is smart, and there's some entertaining and insightful stuff about Westerners seeking out chop-socky wisdom in Asia, as well as the fallout of the Vietnam war (the novel is set in 1977), but a lot of it does feel dated now in 2025. There's a fair amount of "me so solly" type humour related to Japanese people speaking Engrish which is super cringey - but also very much of the moment when the West was terrified of the world turning Japanese.

A lot of people have complained about the ending. I thought that the book was headed in an interesting direction and McInerney was building towards a climax . .. and then the very end just robbed it of all the potential. WTF was he thinking? No spoilers but there's a set of well rounded characters all hurtling to the finish line, and then . . . I mean, it's as crazy as having a lightning strike take out the protagonist on the last page. That's not what actually happens, but it is about as insane as that. My guess is that the book was trying to make a point about the randomness of life and violence? Maybe?

The flashbacks to Afghanistan were really good and there was a killer story there as well, but again it just petered out into nothing.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ransom is McInerney’s sophomore effort, tracking an expat in Kyoto and his small cadre of acquaintances as he seeks enlightenment through martial arts, an escape from his overbearing father, and a battle against his American nihilism. It’s nowhere near the literary dynamo that Bright Lights, Big City was, and seems to have been summarily forgotten after release, but it’s still a somewhat entertaining read, despite its issues.

At times, it feels more like a travelogue than a tangible narrative, but this makes for a uniquely immersive experience that’s out of the norm for its era. It creates a sort of zen-like experience that mirrors the lead’s quest for meditative enlightenment, almost evoking the films of a contemporary director like Wim Wenders in the process. But McInerney’s flair for minimalistic exposition sprinkled throughout, slowly forming the picture of Ransom, echoes his previous novel in a satisfying way.

It does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity though. Bouncing around between flashbacks, life in the dojo, work life, etc, it never totally coalesces into something greater, despite the framework being there. You can see it *almost* getting there, but completeness is always just out of reach, feeling scattered with its many underdeveloped plot threads and a shockingly abrupt ending that is either a brilliant subversion or a complete thud.

It merely feels like a good collection of slight character building moments and immersive setpieces amid a lack of commitment to its overall story. But with a recurring theme of “words aren’t important, it’s the feeling”, Ransom is still a somewhat worthwhile, if not frustrating, journey.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I had lots of spare time at work and was looking for something I could power read, and this was just perfect for that! This was a big accomplishment for me, as I had to ignore lots of negative reviews and summaries - and it was worth it! While this book was not life changing, the story itself was of good quality, it kept me well interested, with a few great twists up until the very end. It is an enjoyable, easy read, and I would recommend it to a friend! It explores the challenges of relationships, morals and feeling "at home" while living abroad, and all the challenges that come with! It has many characters, from various walks of life and with various personalities, and is an enjoyable way to spend a few good hours!

[Jonathan Bento · Rating 3 out of 5]

Struggled with this one. Really enjoyed Bright Lights & Story of my Life, but this one was tougher for me to get through. It did not flow as well as the aforementioned pieces, the story left me particularly uninterested, and I was disappointed with the ending. I would have been OK with an ambiguous ending regarding the final duel, but it all felt pointless - which may be what Jay was aiming for, but I did not care for it. The side story of Ransom's past was slightly interesting, but left too many holes for my liking.

Not sure I would recommend this one, unless I knew the person was interested specifically with Jay as a writer.

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ransom is a very compelling and intriguing read following a young man's journey to process immense grief and guilt in Japanese samurai/karate culture. Modern day readers may find the writing slightly racist and/or having a Western bias although I'm sure in the 80's the book was likely fairly progressive in this regard. Despite the interesting premise and plot progression, there were a few too many loose ends for my liking although I concede that may have been intentional by McInenery. Regardless, this is a book that will make you think hard, which I truly appreciated.