The thing about writing a memoir is this: would anyone actually be interested in reading about your pish life? In my case the answer was probably no, but I thought fuck it I’m writing this anyway. It was picked up by a great wee publisher, so maybe it’s worth reading.

I lived in Japan for almost seven years, starting in a wee fishing town, which as you can imagine in a humid as fuck summer made everyone and everything stink of rancid fish. Clothes, the pavement, trees – all reeking of fish. There was even a wee factory right outside my only window in my flat that made fish shavings. A guy that worked there stole my bike, which was a nice touch to go with the smell.

It was a mental wee place as was the rest of my time there. Ups and downs like being on a broken rollercoaster. But the ride ended in 2020 and I went back to Scotland for good.

If you’re into reading about stuff then this is the book for you. It’s a quick read, so won’t take you away from more important things in life like eating and sleeping and walking and all that.

John Gerard Fagan is a writer from Scotland. Fish Town is his debut memoir about living in Japan and will be available at the end of April/May 2021 from Guts Publishing.