Books and
Cooks West
April 2005
The Wages of Guilt
by Ian Buruma
The Wages of Guilt:
Memories of War in Germany and Japan
Ian Buruma
Nate's place
Saturday, April 2 at 5:30 PM
Thai take-out, broccoli salad, cashew/banana bread, red wine, lemon
meringue pie
Our rating: 2.9 cups of tea!
From Library Journal
Buruma, a native of Holland, established his credentials on the subject
of Japan in Behind the Mask (1983). In this work, he examines how Japan
and Germany have handled their collective memories of World War II.
While Gordon Craig (The Germans, LJ 2/1/82) examined the
ethnopsychology of the Germans with more scholarship, Buruma provides a
timely comparative study of the Axis partners. Given the current fear
of a reunified Germany full of skinheads in the streets, Buruma may
surprise some with his conclusion that Germany is coming to grips with
the past while Japan tries to ignore it. As a journalist, Buruma is
prone to journalism's sins: sweeping generalizations and the absence of
footnotes. Still, this insightful look at two major nations in the new
world order will make a valuable addition to any library. Highly
recommended.
--Randall L. Schroeder
