East Is East was published by Viking in 1990. Hiro Tanaka, a half-Japanese, half-American sailor, jumps from a Japanese freighter off the coast of Georgia and swims to Tupelo Island, a barrier island that houses an artists’ colony. He hides in the swamps while the residents of the colony — writers, mostly, engaged in various forms of artistic vanity and sexual intrigue — debate what to do about the mysterious Japanese man in their midst. Meanwhile, local authorities and immigration officials conduct a manhunt through the marshes.
The novel uses its comic setup to explore serious questions about immigration, cultural identity, and the gap between America’s self-image as a sanctuary and its actual treatment of uninvited arrivals. Hiro is sympathetic but also comic — his understanding of America is derived entirely from movies and literature, and the real Georgia swamp bears no resemblance to his expectations.
The Writers’ Colony
Boyle’s satirical portrait of the Thanatopsis House writers’ colony — the rivalries, the sexual intrigues, the elaborate pretensions of people who spend their days “creating” while a fugitive hides in the swamp outside — draws on his own experience of writers’ retreats. The colony scenes are among his funniest, and the contrast between artistic self-absorption and Hiro’s desperate survival is the novel’s central comic engine.
Collecting East Is East
First edition (Viking, New York, 1990): Boards with dust jacket.
Approximate market values:
- Fine in dust jacket: $40–$100
- Very good: $15–$40
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the writers’ colony based on a real place? Thanatopsis House is fictional but draws on the culture of real American artists’ colonies — Yaddo, MacDowell, Bread Loaf — where Boyle spent time. The satire of artistic pretension is drawn from direct observation.