Norm is having dinner in Japan when Tom, the man next to him at the restaurant, begins a conversation about his manners while in Japan. At first Norm is not sure about the other but he figures he’ll be polite and hear him out and maybe pick up some hints on how to act in Japan in Ray N. Kuili’s THE LAST MASK.

What a fascinating book. It reminds me of the play, THE BLUE ROOM. Both tell of the masks we wear. In THE BLUE ROOM the masks vary by situation. In THE LAST MASK Norm is challenged to give up his masks. Listening to him counteract each argument Tom presents to him made me think. Which man is right? Tom is free with his advice. He also is refreshingly honest and frank. He does not act the way society deems he should. He does not give the platitudes or the “just kidding” act to backpedal when Norm takes offense. What is most interesting is how Norm does not walk away no matter how angry or offended he gets. Why does he stay?

THE LAST MASK challenges the reader. I wondered if I could give up my masks. Would I want to? What would I find? Can I rebel against society? Do I need the masks to be comfortable? As a reader I could not walk away from this book. It is one that will come back and make me question myself. It also is one that deserves additional readings. Each reading will make my answers change as I have more life experience. I am starting to see what Tom means. ( )

A short story or was it? The front cover doesn't say it is a novel. So is it autobiographical? Easy to read and an interesting topic though I would have liked to read about the personal experience of the person telling the story when he began the journey of identifying his own masks. Instead the reader is left with a paragraph. Definitely food for thought and worth reading. ( )

I received this from Library Thing to read and review. I am not sure what the author’s intent was in this book. A businessman, Norm, meets up with a man in a bar in Japan, and they have a strange discussion. The stranger discusses the “masks” everyone wears (kind of like the seven hats business people wear, only not quite the same), telling Norm how he managed to remove them for good. As the discussion continues, Norm goes from finding the information interesting to being irritated that he agreed to listen to this stranger to back again and so forth. As I said, I am not sure there was a lesson to be learned from this book. I know there was no plot. The book is trying to get the reader to become reflective about himself/herself and how he/she presents his/her self to the world, but I felt the message got lost in the long ramblings in the book. The book was rather short, which is good because I probably would not have finished it otherwise. If the reader is tired of novels (mysteries, romances, action packed tales, etc.) this could be a good book to try, because it will steer you away from those genres. ( )

I really enjoyed this story, I though it was really quite impressive.
The idea of us wearing 'masks' in our everyday lives is a common thought, but I like the way Kuili handles the topic and gives it a new twist. I really liked the character development and thought it was an intriguing story that drew you in from the start. ( )

Really interesting topic and a very good material for personal reflecion.

It makes you think and realize that all the masks you detect in other people are also worn by yourself on a daily basis.

Very quick read. ( )