Boris Johnson
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
A few weeks back, I was looking at a bunko (paperbacks) shelf at a local, small, family-run bookstore. I often go to the store because they have a good selection of books - other bookstores in my area are too consumeristic to have Edward Said and other books that make me feel intellectual.
I was looking for a "The Secret of Google" sort of books needed in my work, when I found the "B・ジョンソン (B. Johnson)" book. I know one B. Johnson - Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, a British MP, a Tory, etc. The funny title, 「世界同時中継！ 朝まで生テロリスト？」 caught my eyes too. I couldn't find the right kind of my book, so I bought this. 1,000 yen is rather costly for an entertainment book, but this is Boris Johnson. I didn't know how long the store keeps it or it might not be very long until it gets in the usual out-of-print status. (I don't think this sells so well, and I know how publishers make decisions.) It was "now or never".
「朝まで生 something？」 is sort of in the Japanese pop culture, after a TV debate program, 「朝まで生テレビ」. It literally translates as "Live TV til Dawn", in which guest members do some debates from 01.00 til 05.00 (or something). I seldom see the program, as I don't like the host. Anyway the phrase 「朝まで生 something？」 is catchy enough.
The book is rich in details. I have just read the first 100 pages, and am sort of bored of the story but some details make me LOL. There will be a big move in the story in the next 100 pages, I hope. If Robert Altman were still alive, he'd do a clever job on this novel.
And 「世界同時中継！ 朝まで生テロリスト？」 translates: Live on Air World-Wide! Live Terrorist til Dawn? ... Looks seriously stupid for a title of a book. (Originally, as on the cover, "Seventy-Two Virgins".)
