Wayside - 1920s Japan Dramedy

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Ongoing.400+ pages already written.A historical fiction book set in Japan during the pre-World War II 1920s Taisho period. A story of cultural exchange between Japan, America, and North American First Nations.The first world war has come to a close, and everyone is ready to rumble into the twenties with light hearts and wide open horizons.Nevertheless, the roaring twenties don't welcome all with parties and glitz, and the Hampton family is living proof.Thrust from the humble plains of South Dakota's wheat farms, Lucy Hampton finds herself caught in between the throes of mourning after the death of her family from pneumonia all while being tossed an ocean away to reconnect with her Uncle Alfred and his fiancé Yuko Hasegawa.As if cultural struggles, language barriers, and class divides weren't enough problems for the Hamptons, when Lucy ruins the prized kimono of the young heiress Mieko Takahara, they are soon at the mercy of the affluent and elusive Takahara family, promising financial gain and security under the guise of shadowed business dealings paired with ludicrously fateful misunderstandings.Once Kazuma Kamoi, Mieko's confidant and the next heir to the Takahara Trading Company's fortune, returns from a three-year stint in New York, he is thrust into a charity project to pull Mieko's new friends out of poverty.His major issue among many? He can't help but have wandering eyes for one of these new clients.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: Noelleintide

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.9/ 5.0
Followers: 146
Views: 32,631

Reviews

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Community Reviews(4)

Brain-Dead-WriterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I really want this novel to continue, but the dim reception this novel has received in comparison with the obvious amount of effort put into in makes this into an arduous task for its author, only willpower seems to be holding the project strong.
In royal road, good stories start with passion, planning and a lot time but regularly get crushed by the lackluster response of the audience, interrupted schedules, and the author abandoning the project.
This novel is doing something unconventional in a platform that is not used to too much experimentation, and yet it seems the author still wants to continue pushing the cart forward.
I like this fiction in a different way that what I am used to, case in point, I really hate Kazuma because of his nonchalant sexism but he is so incredibly human despite of it that I can’t help but compare the character with real people whose only trait I remember them by is that.
In the process of doing that I realized that I never wished to see them more profoundly, I never wanted to look deeper into them and as such, I am doing the same as Lucy.
This conflict is hard to write in a way that is not too bland y while also not painting the characters as mearly the outlet of an stereotype, and this novel is handling this well, for now…
I beg people to give this novel a chance, and I sincerely hope that the author doesn’t leave it by the wayside.
I will follow any updates very closely…
Deep ImpactRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is compelling not only for its rich character relationships and emotional depth, but also for how it brings 1920s Japan to life through its narrative. The dialogue feels natural and easy to follow, and the cultural differences are portrayed skillfully, making it hard to resist reading the next chapter.
Michele InoueRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Wayside by Noelleintide is a wonderful tale set in Osaka, Japan in the 1920s. The characters are intriguing, loveable, and at the same time mysterious. I couldn’t wait to read the next chapter to learn more about them and see their interactions. They are very important to the story as they navigate being exposed to a culture different from theirs while at the same time finding their place in a society that isn’t warm towards things that are different.
The character driven story constantly moves along, but also has a slower pace that almost feels slice of life-ish. The slower moments with the characters are just as interesting as the moments I’m reading faster, eager to find out how things are going to turn out.
The illustrations are also the cherry on top of the wonderful sundae that Wayside is.
Historical: When I hear Japan in the 1920s as someone who studied Japanese history, and loves history in general, my mind goes to the Taisho Era (1912-1926). A unique era in Japan where Japan was still trying to figure out the balance of Japanese traditions as well as embracing the western world. This is especially seen in the fashion of the time. My mind goes to images of a man in a kimono with a western top hat and cane. Though of course not the focus of the story, I did feel elements of the era in the setting. An example of this is Mieko going from a kimono to a western dress (which in my mind is a flapper dress, you can’t change my mind!). The time can be seen not in just that but the surroundings and interactions, especially towards the characters from the USA, in the people that fill the world around the characters.
Even though the story is only at chapter 25 at the time of this review, It’s a 5 star read for me and I can’t wait to read more.
abyssalspongeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
i always want to give my first impressions when it comes to work like this before i read the rest but ill follow it now in style this one is kinda all over the place when it comes to chapter length and how the chapters are told with some reading more like poetry and others like the script of a stage drama then in other places like a traditional novel and even though it like this change of form between chapters i feel like it isnt consistent and some were a little too short for me
it is nice to see this historical take on comedy drama and though it dont know much about 1920s japan i was able to experience this different setting in a way i didnt expect and im was glad to randomly drop by this
the formatting of some of the lines and use of japanese quotation marks for english text was a cool little nod to the language which im not sure how many noticed but i did maybe that should give it a few more points for style
all of the characters are great and like this other reviewer said loveable and intriguing this story is a drama and is character forward but i do love some good character writing and this story delivers it in access