Published: Aug. 25, 2011
Words: 76,503 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781466006430

Short description

An American Branch finds Charles Journeyman, as the director of an English language program at a new American university branch in Osaka. He is happily married to a lovely Japanese woman, but their inability to have children has created a distance between them. This increases as Journeyman becomes busier with work. Unexpectedly, he is given a seductive reward . . .

Extended description

The Japanese post-war economic miracle halted in the 1990s, a time that has been called the “lost decade” by many. Although the country suffered a severe downturn, it was still flush with revenue, so certain sectors prospered. Due to the belief that college ensured a successful career and to the large number of young people at the time, higher education was in great demand. The domestic universities were unable to handle the short-term surge, so some Japanese companies formed joint-ventures with dozens of foreign universities to provide an “international” alternative.

An American Branch finds Wayne’s everyman, Charles Journeyman, as the director of an English language program at a new American university branch in Osaka. He is happily married to a lovely Japanese woman, but their inability to have children has created a distance between them. This increases as Journeyman becomes busier with work. Unexpectedly, he is given a seductive reward for fulfilling his duties.. (Read more) The Japanese post-war economic miracle halted in the 1990s, a time that has been called the “lost decade” by many. Although the country suffered a severe downturn, it was still flush with revenue, so certain sectors prospered. Due to the belief that college ensured a successful career and to the large number of young people at the time, higher education was in great demand. The domestic universities were unable to handle the short-term surge, so some Japanese companies formed joint-ventures with dozens of foreign universities to provide an “international” alternative.

An American Branch finds Wayne’s everyman, Charles Journeyman, as the director of an English language program at a new American university branch in Osaka. He is happily married to a lovely Japanese woman, but their inability to have children has created a distance between them. This increases as Journeyman becomes busier with work. Unexpectedly, he is given a seductive reward for fulfilling his duties. With this begins an emotional roller coaster full of thrills and perils involving shady business dealings, love hotels, modified fallout shelters, boogie bars, small towns, urban nightlife, illicit drugs, deception, revenge, and rumors of incest. Nothing remains the same, or does it?

In An American Branch, Wayne provides the reader with a glimpse of what life might have been like if you lived in Japan in the 1990s as an early middle-aged, Caucasian-American male with little by way of a moral compass beyond what you accumulated during the Cold War era as a member of the Woodstock generation. This novel contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.
(Less)

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages. For more information, see the Support FAQ.

Tags

erotic, japan, drugs, adultery, expatriates, universities, osaka, branch campuses

Available ebook reading formats

Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.

Format	Full Book	Sample First 20%
Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser)	Buy	View sample
Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps)	Buy	Download sample
Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others)	Buy	Download sample
PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Buy	No sample available
RTF (readable on most word processors)	Buy	No sample available
LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub)	Buy	Download sample
Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)	Buy	Download sample
Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Reviews

Log-in to write a Review   Log-in to add a Video Review

Review by: Diego Sierra on Jan. 28, 2012 :
This is not a terribly written book, rather it it a well written book with a terrible main character.

If you enjoy reading about people who are completely self absorbed and continually make poor decisions and then wallow in the results you will find this a delightful read. Not my thing.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Nick Wastnage on Jan. 14, 2012 :
An American Branch, like Clip, another of Kenneth Wayne’s books, is unusual, entertaining and compelling.

Who would have thought that a story about the politics and infighting of the branch of an American university in Japan could be so page turning? But it is, and made so by the well-written, readable and flowing style of the narrative.

Charles Journeyman, the author’s protagonist, who also plays the major part in Clip, finds solace from his sexually-tired wife, and the impossible antics of the university’s hierarchy, in the vivacious and erotic mother of one of his pupils.

But when he discovers that her motives are not as honest as he’d thought, and her son has his own agenda, Charles’s life starts to fall apart.

An enjoyable read: empathetic, life-like and touching. Well done.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Poppet on Oct. 17, 2011 :
Wow. This is one heavily loaded dramatic read. The main character Charles is an American teacher in Japan, and this book follows his downward spiral into hell.

He seems just like every other guy, caught up in his work and the logistical problems of the college he's teaching at, and having that awkward distance appearing between himself and his wife.

Up to this point, you don't really have a relationship with him. Then he makes the first of a series of potentially volatile and damaging decisions. It includes raunchy sex with a grateful mother (of one of his students), it has him backstabbing his boss, and entering into his lost youth when he starts smoking pot and taking LSD.

All things considered, he's lucky he got off as lightly as he did.

This book is a delightful sojourn into Japan, the food, the lifestyle, and the gorgeous beauty of the place - Highlighted starkly against the US midwest.

But the twists continue, and as a reader you feel it. Wholeheartedly ensconced in Charles' life, you want to shake him, and your insides contract when you discover the horror at the end.

What a way to end a book.

It was a wild ride, one I could not anticipate from the book's blurb. Nothing prepares you for how candid and gut wrenching this read is.

This book turns you into a voyeur, witnessing the best and worst moments of this man's life.

It was well written and compelling.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Reason for report:
— Select a reason — Book is or contains spam Book infringes copyright Same content is published elsewhere with different author (for ex., by private-label rights) Duplicate Incomplete work (such as sample or serial) Should be marked adults-only Category is inappropriate Poorly formatted Nudity or other inappropriate content on cover Nudity or other inappropriate visual content in book Inappropriate erotica content Cover image is improper Content is inappropriate Other violation of Terms of Service Other reason not shown above.

Additional details: