With a title like Fish Town, despite what you might expect, this book does not centre around fish.
You should, after all, never judge a book by its cover. Instead Fagan brings us his debut memoir telling the very personal and often hilarious story of how he traded Scottish life in sunny Glasgow for Yaizu, a tiny fishing village in Japan.
After failing to get a permanent job in Scotland after university Fagan decides to apply to a company that would enable him to teach English in a school in Tokyo, or so they led him to believe.
Once accepted, Fagan packs up everything and leaves.
However, upon arrival in Japan he realises that the town he is staying in, and indeed the schools he is told to teach in, are nowhere near Tokyo.
Despite many attempts at trying to make friends and even romantic connections, nothing can change the fact that instead of the modern, upbeat Japanese city he was expecting to live in, he is stuck in a forgotten, middle-of-nowhere fishing village.
Written in diary form, this book details his daily struggles as he tries to adapt to a new culture. Through the book he meets other westerners who signed up for the teaching programme who are mostly Americans and English.
But to his disappointment, none of them drink quite like a Scot, ensuring that his social life remains boring and unfulfilling.
The book is full of good humour and unique experiences, with some adventures that I have to admit I am quite envious of. But it is also full of misadventures where he recounts tales of low budget food and mispronunciation.
The story of when he accidentally bought cat food to eat made me laugh out loud – no wonder it was a bargain!
This is a short snappy memoir of a man who had nothing going for him in Scotland so tried to change his fortunes.
Fagan shows that when life gives you lemons, you should stick it out and hope for the best.
Fish Town, by John Gerard Fagan, published by Guts Publishing, £9.95.
[review rating=”5″ align = “left”]
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