Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Let me start by saying that I have not only studied at University and lived in Japan, but have also served in the military and have been stationed in Japan and been to Okinawa many times. I was leery at first, to see what agenda the author had-torn between my love for the people and culture of Japan and Okinawa, and for my fellow service members and America, I knew this book could go a number of ways. I was very happy that the author not only conducted extensive research on both the Okinawan side, but the American side as well, as I feel that she was able to offer a unique perspective to a difficult and volatile situation, without taking sides.

In her novel, Ms. Johnson looks at the troubled yet co-dependent relationship between Okinawa and the United States since WWII, through the lives of women on the island. In each chapter, she tells the story of a particular woman, revealing her life on this tropical island, and how society around her, both Okinawan and American, react and accept her. She also draws parallels to women on the mainland of Japan. In the book she shows us the “amejo”-the girls who only date American guys, the war survivor, the base protestor, the wife of an American who relies on the base, the abandoned “hafu” child of an American father and Okinawa mother, the Filipina bar hostess, and the rape victim. Each one gives us a glimpse into this complicated relationship between the US and Okinawa, the bases and the island, the military and the Okinawa people. This relationship, this story, this history is different than the rest of Japan, and needs to be understood as a separate entity.

If you have ever wondered why the people of Okinawa protest the bases, or if you wonder why each incident that happens involving a US service member gets elevated to the level it does, why it’s on their National radar, if you are in the military and are stationed there, or will be stationed there, or have been stationed there....this is a MUST read.

Brava Ms. Johnson. You did a brilliant job with a very difficult topic.

Johnson's book keeps circling the same issues again and again. Watch the Japanese film 'Ikari' (Rage) instead and you'll get the message what Japanese people's feelings are over the base.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

This is a memorable book. Akemi Johnson lays out all the factors affecting the Japanese island of Okinawa as it hosts a dense concentration of U.S military bases -- the historical, economic, legal, social and sexual patterns that have changed Okinawa into a hybrid Japanese-American culture.

Johnson is quite even-handed as she looks clear-eyed at some of the atrocities Americans have perpetrated on Okinawans (as far back as WWII), and at many of the benefits that have been exchanged. Her story is bookended by the case of Rina Shimabukuro, a young woman who was murdered by an ex-GI in 2016. The crime opens the books, and the sentencing closes it. In between, there are mentions of dozens more American crimes, and interviews with a myriad of locals who love or hate (or sometimes both) the American presence.

While reading the book, I thought often of Mark Twain's quote on travel: It "is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

Unfortunately, U.S.military members and their families stationed on overseas bases usually miss out on this liberation -- the isolation of the base social structure instead can widen the cultural gap. Johnson's book is packed with intimate accounts, from both sides, of this culture clash. (Full disclosure: I was a military wife who lived for years on and off-base in a NATO country. )

The "American Village" referenced in the title is a theme-park-style tourist trap that attracts off-duty soldiers and Marines as well as avidly curious locals. It felt like yet another example of our tendency to export the worst of America.

I liked the structure Johnson used, with each chapter headed by the name of a different woman, whose story introduced more of Okinawa's complex issues. I liked her throughness, right down to the footnotes, to establish the credibility of her observations. Her style is very readable.

I hope many readers discover this book. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance reader's copy.

The author's painstaking research and attention to detail is obvious in the writing of this book. There were many facts that I only discovered after reading this!

“Night in the American Village” by Akemi Johnson is a book that is going to stay with me for an incredibly long time.

Ms. Johnson gives the women at the military bases in Okinawa their voices, their truth, and their power.

This book is not always an easy read but it is an incredibly important one and an absolutely empowering story that reveals the horrors that all too many people are not aware of that occurred in WWII Japan.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for kindly and generously providing me with an arc via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting and eye opening read looking at the American Military stationed in Okinawa (which began during World War II). The book discusses the relationship between the US Military and the local islanders especially when it comes to the women. There are many dangers for the women there- the author shares stories of violence including rape and murder. This book was very well researched and shares a part of the US Military and history that isn't that well known. A difficult read but informative. Thank you to Netgalley and The New Press for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fascinating eye opening look at the American military stationed in Okinawa the soldiers who are stationed there and the women of Okinawa .Their .involvement-with each other their socializing which can be good bad and at times dangerous for the women.There are acts of sexual assault perpetrated against the women.their are a lot of dating some marriages .This is a part of the world that I knew very little about and this very well written book drew me right in to this culture, #netgalley#newpress

Night in the American Village by Akemi Johnson is a fascinating account of the occupation of Okinawa by the US military since World War 2 and how this relationship has affected (and continues to, to this day) the inhabitants of this island, primarily the women. Rape and violence are prevalent in this multi-cultural society, but so is friendship and love.

It is very well researched with intimate details covering topics that are not widely known or discussed regarding the military bases, the activists, the families (both local and foreign). Although filled with factual accounts of the people living in Okinawa (and to a lesser extent Japan) and their personal stories, it reads like a novel.

Forging an identity here is complex and seems up for negotiation. Not only has Ms. Johnson has taken a hard look at the sexual culture of the American military, she’s also dissected how this relationship has contributed to the economic growth as well as the ongoing tensions between these two societies who it seems, cannot live without each other.

A thoroughly enjoyable, if somewhat depressing, book!

#netgalley #nightintheamericanvillage #akemijohnson #thenewpress

An exhaustive examination of the complex relationship women living near the U.S. bases in Okinawa and the servicemen who are stationed there have. Akemi Johnson has done a great service shining light on a topic few knew existed.