Synopsis

When a California veterinarian, a Japanese-American tour-guide and the son of a well-known Tokyoite businessman get together to help save the Taiji dolphins, trouble brews in a society where conformity is favored over individuality. Tessa Walker sticks out in Japan’s homogeneous society. Akira Nakano has to tread lightly if she wants to keep her job as a tour guide. And Toshiro Yokoyama needs to find a way to distance himself from his family in order to find himself. As the three join a demonstration to protest the slaughter of dolphins, the wealthy owner of global aquariums is alarmed and is determined to stop them. But Tessa and Akira are resolved to push forward and help protect these cetaceans from brutal slaughter, and Toshiro is determined to help them in order to escape his humdrum life.

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Guest Post

Why should you read “The American Outsider?”

For readers who have no familiarity with the Japanese culture and dolphins, they will learn about a whole new world. The American Outsider is not only entertaining but also enlightening. Readers will gain a new perspective about how animals feel when they are taken away from their habitat and forced to live a life in captivity.

One aspect that marks a civilized society is how its inhabitants treat other creatures. For decades, dolphins have been abused at the hands of humans, not just for food, but also for profit. These mammals are highly intelligent, and they suffer immensely when they are torn apart from their family and friends. The American Outsider tells their story and the difficulties they face at the hands of their jailers.

There is so much we don’t know about other creatures, and we dismiss them as ignorant beings that do clever things, not because they are smart but because it is their nature. This thought process is absolutely false, and it contributes to our dismal attempt to justify our poor behavior toward other non-humans. Science has proven time and again how unwise we are because of the way we process information and act before we have gained sufficient knowledge.

The American Outsider tries to bring out all the misinformation to light in an entertaining way so that readers can relate to non-humans and take a moment to think about the fact that they are just like us. They love. They cry. They play. They have feelings. They are not automatons.

The American outsider shows readers that they can help push for change by doing one small act –refuse to buy tickets to any venue that uses dolphins as a source of entertainment. Each piece of currency that people spend to purchase tickets contributes to the abuse of dolphins. But this novel is not just about dolphins. It is also about other lifeforms as much as it is about the complicated Japanese culture told through the relationship of the two main characters.

Tessa Walker loves animals and, if possible, wants to save every one of them. Although her teenage experience scarred her, she decides to face her fears and set things right, even if it means getting into trouble in a country where she knows little about. There is this uncanny perseverance in Tessa that has helped her this far in life and made her a successful veterinarian. What she doesn’t realize is that too much of a good thing is not always a good thing, and her stubbornness and ignoring all advice may just end up causing her harm.

In all honesty, I cannot fault my character. She makes a decision to save the dolphins and doesn’t allow anything to get in her way. One person, or even a small group of activists, may not be able to change everything. But if person after person and activist after activist push to alter the destiny of dolphins, other cetaceans, and non-humans, then real change may just be possible.

About the Author

Homa Pourasgari spent hours in her father’s home office, writing, reading and letting her imagination carry her to unseen worlds. She moved to Los Angeles, California, at a young age. After graduating from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in business, she went to Paris for a year to study literature at the Sorbonne. Before becoming a full-time writer, she ran her own boutique, worked at a bank and a CPA firm, was a personal trainer and even taught spinning and cardio kickboxing. When she is not writing, she is stumbling, miming and pointing to find her way in a foreign country. Her latest novel, The American Outsider, is based on her travels in Japan.

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