The City of Yes

The City of Yes is a novel that interweaves the story of a Canadian English teacher living in contemporary Japan with the fictionalized account of Ranald MacDonald, a 19th-century Canadian explorer and the first man to teach English in Japan.

The narrative explores themes of history, myth, and cultural encounter, vividly imagining MacDonald's strange confinement in a Japanese prison beginning in 1848.

The book is noted for its warm humor, delicate prose, and keen observation of life's eccentricities and mysteries.