A bank internship in Japan's booming 1981 economy is supposed to be twenty-three-year-old Dorothy Falwell's ticket into a prestigious international MBA program. But the internship is unpaid-so, to make ends meet, she accepts an evening job as a hostess in a rundown suburban bar, a far cry from the sensuous woodblock prints she's seen of old Tokyo's "floating world."
Like her namesake, Dorothy hasn't planned on the detours she encounters in her own twisted version of Oz. Renamed Gina by her boss, she struggles with nightly indignities from customers and confusing advice from new friends. Then her internship crumbles and the suave but mysterious Mr. Tambuki offers help. How can she resist?
With patience and the utmost respect for her opinions, Mr. Tambuki lures her into his exotic world of unorthodox Zen instruction, erotic art, and high-octane sex. Soon, bizarre sexual escapades with monks, salarymen, and gangsters begin to feel normal until one of her clients goes too far, and Dorothy realizes she's in over her head. But can she find her way back from this point of no return?
Industry Reviews
"In this erotic thriller, Gina, a midwestern innocent, fights temptation as she falls into the underbelly of Tokyo's nightlife, where a stew of high culture, quick money, love, and lust threatens to drown her, leaving the reader hot to know what happens next." --E.B. Moore, author of Stones in the Road and An Unseemly Wife "In this unique coming of age story set in 1981, Dorothy, a good Midwestern girl, plans to attend Wharton but finds herself working as a hostess named Gina in Tokyo to pay the bills. Like Dorothy in Oz, she meets unexpected people and gets into situations more outlandish than she could've imagined. Brett's debut is inventive, funny, and authentic in its depiction of how life's surprises, even unpleasant ones, can shape the course of a life." --Stephanie Gayle, author of Idyll Threats and Idyll Fears "Belle Brett's wise and gorgeous novel of self-discovery takes us on a journey through Japan's floating world, a land where evening is morning, life is art, and an aspiring MBA student named Dorothy becomes Gina, a woman with the courage to explore her darkest erotic desires." --Donna George Storey, author of Amorous Woman "Belle Brett's debut sears, holding readers captive inside a world of vamped up whiskey nights. Brilliant, sexy, and sincere, Gina in the Floating World goes all the way. . . and then some. Brett's talent is clearly matchless." --Michael Graves, author of Parade and Dirty One
