The Bridge Across the Pacific

Marvin Matthews is an awful person, intolerant of anything that differs from his perceived views of normality. As such, he is not one who should be teaching English in Japan. However, unable to find work at home, the young American does just that, landing a job at a conversation school in Sapporo. He embarks to Japan with high hopes; he has been assured that the job will require no effort and that Japanese women adore American men. To his dismay, he quickly learns this is not always so, and that the so-called Charisma Man foreigner in Japan is almost entirely a myth. Frustration with life in Japan turns to increasing bitterness, and he lashes out at all those he feels have conspired to make his life miserable. Readers will likely despise Marvin. At the same time, they will probably recognize him the person always quick to blame anyone but himself for his misfortune. Bridge attempts to demonstrate that in his case, problems with Japan do not necessarily lie with the host country.