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This essay examines how the Erast Fandorin series by Boris Akunin (Grigorii Chkhartishvili) employs, revises, and deconstructs the Orientalist paradigm through the portrayal of Masa, the detective’s Japanese sidekick. At first glance, Masa appears to embody Orientalist clichés through allusions to a familiar ethnic stereotype. But the Fandorin series does more than activate the preconceived role of...