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A review by purplelorikeet
Tokyo Firewall by Elizabeth Wilkerson
2.0
I have quite a few mixed feelings about this book.
I like its setting in Tokyo and the time period of the '90s. The background of the early days of the internet was also interesting. I was really pleased to see a story about a black protagonist in the Japan which isn't something I ever see. There is some suspense in the book which was reasonably well done to a point. She is willing to learn about the computer stuff she's trying to navigate even though she goes about it in less conventional ways. This part sort of resonates with me because I was an early user of the internet although my access was mostly through university servers and later on paid services and not so much bulletin board systems. You kind of learned it as you went and I think you tended to become a bit more tech savvy through the process.
What bothered me in this book was the woman seemed to lack common sense at times. She's supposed to be a lawyer with a sharp mind, a point she makes a few times through the story. But then she does some pretty foolish things and seems to trust way too easily, especially for someone in a country where they don't speak the language. I can understand her accepting advice from her brother to some degree because you wouldn't expect a sibling to steer you wrong (assuming you get along). But then she makes a friend online and soon after sets up a meeting even though they really don't know each other. The advice she gets on the computer from her brother includes downloading some questionable software but she goes ahead and does it anyway. It's not so bad she does this once but even when she asks for items later on and has to go to suspicious places to get them she carries on anyway. This just doesn't match the lawyer mind she supposedly has.
One of the last things that bugged me is something I see in lots of books. Her fiance/boyfriend is clearly quite a jerk and yet she has followed him overseas to live with him. He clearly was trying to prevent her from following him beforehand and you'd think this would raise red flags. That said, I do realise humans will overlook a lot of suspicious behaviors in those they love and be a bit stupid. But it still bugs me. Also I was rather surprised she went there on a tourist visa yet was looking for work. But I don't really know how that worked there at the time so maybe I shouldn't comment on it after all.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did but I do find in hindsight I can appreciate more of the story than immediately after I read it. I give it 2.5 stars.
I like its setting in Tokyo and the time period of the '90s. The background of the early days of the internet was also interesting. I was really pleased to see a story about a black protagonist in the Japan which isn't something I ever see. There is some suspense in the book which was reasonably well done to a point. She is willing to learn about the computer stuff she's trying to navigate even though she goes about it in less conventional ways. This part sort of resonates with me because I was an early user of the internet although my access was mostly through university servers and later on paid services and not so much bulletin board systems. You kind of learned it as you went and I think you tended to become a bit more tech savvy through the process.
What bothered me in this book was the woman seemed to lack common sense at times. She's supposed to be a lawyer with a sharp mind, a point she makes a few times through the story. But then she does some pretty foolish things and seems to trust way too easily, especially for someone in a country where they don't speak the language. I can understand her accepting advice from her brother to some degree because you wouldn't expect a sibling to steer you wrong (assuming you get along). But then she makes a friend online and soon after sets up a meeting even though they really don't know each other. The advice she gets on the computer from her brother includes downloading some questionable software but she goes ahead and does it anyway. It's not so bad she does this once but even when she asks for items later on and has to go to suspicious places to get them she carries on anyway. This just doesn't match the lawyer mind she supposedly has.
One of the last things that bugged me is something I see in lots of books. Her fiance/boyfriend is clearly quite a jerk and yet she has followed him overseas to live with him. He clearly was trying to prevent her from following him beforehand and you'd think this would raise red flags. That said, I do realise humans will overlook a lot of suspicious behaviors in those they love and be a bit stupid. But it still bugs me. Also I was rather surprised she went there on a tourist visa yet was looking for work. But I don't really know how that worked there at the time so maybe I shouldn't comment on it after all.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did but I do find in hindsight I can appreciate more of the story than immediately after I read it. I give it 2.5 stars.