Hatchet Job winner gets hatcheted

       Just recently Adam Mars-Jones won the first Hatchet Job of the Year Award -- awarded for: "the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review" of the year -- and now he finds himself hatcheted, as David Cozy rips apart his Noriko Smiling in The Japan Times, finding it An unserious look at the work of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu.
       Cozy notes that: "'I can hardly be accused of being an expert on Japanese film,' Adam Mars-Jones assures us early in Noriko Smiling", and then suggests:

Having asserted his ignorance in the second paragraph of his book, he then devotes the remainder to offering evidence in support of his claim, and it has to be said: The case he builds is airtight.

       Ouch.
       There are also observations such as:

Mars-Jones gets about 30 pages out of his tussle with Richie, but only manages to squeeze a page or so out of the cigarette holder -- his constant effort to fatten his slight book is palpable.

       See also the Noriko Smiling-publicity page at Notting Hill Editions, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.