A Review of "Words by Baye, Art by Miki" by Laura Marushima

The first review of my new book!

I love reading, and my go-to genres are love stories with happy-ever-afters, thrillers, suspense novels, and occasionally memoirs, literary works, or even poetry. Knowing this book was part memoir, I also had high hopes for a love story—and Baye delivered. At its core, this is a love story: the love between Baye and Miki, and Baye’s complicated yet tender relationship and love with Japan.

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of "Words by Baye, Art by Miki" and immerse myself in the stories that Baye was sharing. As an OG blogger myself, it was thrilling to see Baye’s evolution from blogging in the early 2000s to having his work in print. It brought back my own blogging memories; I wrote my first post in 2006 during Golden Week. Baye started around the same time but kept at it—while I didn’t. Still, those days hold a special place in my heart. I was surprised to learn Baye didn’t move to Japan until his late 30s, which happens to be my age now. Despite following his blog for years, I had never realized this.

One of my favorite aspects of the book was the translation of Japanese phrases, which I could vividly hear in Baye’s voice. “Shouganai-jyan” (life’s a bitch and then you die) was particularly memorable.