Face of a Stranger

Set in a California town in the early part of the century, “Face of a Stranger” tells the story of Kikue and Shino, two Japanese picture brides who came to America in arranged marriages only to discover upon their arrival that they had been duped into lives of prostitution.

Both women are jarred when they encounter Takashi Arai, a young migrant worker and indolent rake, certain that they recognize him as the bogus groom in the photograph used to deceive them. Even as they scheme to buy their freedom from their pimp, they begin plotting revenge against Arai with the help of Hana, a beautiful girl who might be insane, the hapless farmer Kogoro Doi and the unwitting Inadas, two zealous Christian converts. A sly, farcical tale of dissembling, revenge and mistaken identity, “Face of a Stranger” marks the remarkable debut of a writer of uncommon brilliance.