Gina in the Floating World
2019 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Medalist for "Best New Voice in Fiction"
She Writes Press (2018)
2019 Indie Publisher of the Year, Next Generation Indie Book Awards
In a whirlwind of hopes and fears, 23-year old Dorothy Falwell travels to Tokyo to pursue an international banking internship, far away from her restrictive Midwest Catholic upbringing. It is 1981, and Japan, with its booming economy and complex culture, is her Oz. The ambitious, but naïve Dorothy must figure out how to navigate the twists and unexpected detours on her personal journey, especially after she accepts a job as a hostess in a run-down suburban bar to support her venture. Renamed Gina by her blustery bar boss, she finds that her new friends aren’t the most reliable guides. In contrast, the suave Mr. Tambuki appears to have all the answers and is even willing to pay Gina to spend time with him. Patiently, he lures her into his world of unorthodox Zen instruction, erotic art, and high octane sex. Small wonder that her moral compass goes haywire, and the bizarre starts to feel normal. But when she realizes she may be in grave danger, will she find herself at a point of no return? Or will she, like the Dorothy for whom she is named, discover that she had power over her destiny all along?
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2019 Sarton Women's Book Awards Finalist in "Contemporary Fiction"
2019 International Book Awards Finalist in Cross-Genre Fiction.
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What Others Are Saying about
Gina in the Floating World...
"Brett's engaging and compulsively readable debut trace's one woman's erotic coming-of-age in a frank, intelligent manner....A sharply observed and unforgettable debut."
(Click here to read the whole review.)
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
"....a promising start from a writer to watch." (Click here to read the whole review)
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“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
“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 DeeDee 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.
"In this unique coming of age story set in 1981, Dorothy, ...like Dorothy in Oz, meets unexpected people and gets into situations more outlandish than she could’ve imagined. Belle 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
"This beautifully written, distinctive story starts off matter-of-factly, and slowly builds in suspense until it demands to be finished....This book defies categorization. It is a psychological suspense novel, a fictional coming-of-age memoir, and an intelligent woman's "Fifty Shades of Grey." I think women of all ages will enjoy it. It is my Number 1 favorite."
—JUDGE, IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards
"Belle Brett masterfully brings characters and a foreign culture to life to create a coming-of-age story that I could not put down."
—FRANCIE ARENSON DICKMAN, author of Chuckerman Makes a Movie
“Belle Brett brings us the loud boom of culture clash and innocence. Her weave and singularity takes us on a gritty tour of Japan in the 80’s along with our naïve and young Midwestern protagonist Dorothy, who becomes slowly ensnared in the unseemly underbelly of Tokyo. This character-driven novel offers us a plot that is engrossing and unexpected and whose breadth makes us dizzy with its promise of sex, deceit, manipulation and survival. The novel’s achievement is in its honest and frank exploration of the complexities of longing and the exotic.”
—SHELLIE LEGER, author of The Treadwell Place and Lonely Specks
"Like a wizard of Oz and Alice down the rabbit hole...but spiraling out of control, erotica. “Gina In The Floating World” by @bellebrett is such a wonderful fantasy style Erotic thriller!! Dee Dee finds herself taking on additional jobs as her internship gets dropped and she has no where else to go. She slips into a realm of keeping businessmen happy...flirting.... dating and other things. She thinks she is in control but can she get herself out of this “floating world” before she loses herself all together ?!?!?! Such a tantalizing erotic story..... twists and turns. I just loved it!!!!"
--MANDY VOSS, book blogger (on Instagram)
"....the story is fascinating - I did not want it to end. I felt like a fly on the wall in this underground world that although I'd never be a part of, it's intriguingly dangerous and seductively captivating."
--BOOKAPOTAMUS, book blogger (on Instagram)