CW for violence, harm to children, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, self-harm.
Oof. Well I went looking for books from the new Booker InternationalCW for violence, harm to children, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, self-harm.
Oof. Well I went looking for books from the new Booker International Prize longlist for 2022, and found this one in Hoopla. It was originally published in Japan in 2009, and published in the English translation by Sam Bett and David Boyd, the same team that translated Breasts and Eggs. (I was a bit critical of these two male translators with that book, as all narrators are women and talking about female health and bodies. In this case, the narrator is a teenaged boy, so I had no questions.)
A 14-year old boy with a lazy eye is referred to as "Eyes" by his classmates and is the victim of ongoing, outrageous bullying. He is befriended by a girl in his class, Kojima, who is also a victim of bullying, but admittedly exhibits strange behavior like not bathing or eating, deliberate acts in her own logic to connect to her father who left. They write letters about everything except their experiences at school.
There is a chilling scene where the boy asks one of the bullies WHY and the answer is the most nihilistic darkness I've ever heard - and this serves to mess with the boy even worse than the physical bullying....more
This was on the long but not short list for the Tournament of Books and when I went looking for a shorter beachy read for January in Japan, this seemeThis was on the long but not short list for the Tournament of Books and when I went looking for a shorter beachy read for January in Japan, this seemed perfect.
The narrator has noticed the woman in the purple skirt around the neighborhood, from her weekly cream bun in the park to the cafe she uses to look at job ads. At first it seems harmless and then less so, because nobody notices The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan.
This is an award-winning novel in Japan, was originally published in 2019, and the English language version was translated by Lucy North....more
This is a reread for me, for the summer Tournament of Favorites for the Tournament of Books. I originally read this as an egalley in May 2013, for theThis is a reread for me, for the summer Tournament of Favorites for the Tournament of Books. I originally read this as an egalley in May 2013, for the ToB that year, and rated it pretty low. I thought the author was trying to throw too much into the book, and it included one of my pet peeves - literary fiction attempting to use big ideas from quantum physics.
Here from 2021, where I listened to the audio read by the author, I'm a different person with many more grief experiences as well as someone who has a meditation practice, and I found myself enjoying the novel more. The PNW setting, the author/narrator combination, the connection between the narratives, the cultural differences, the Buddhism, these things worked very well for me. I still don't think the ending needed to go where it did, and again, the quantum physics, eh....more
This is probably my last book for January in Japan - the second book I've read by Masatsugu Ono from Two Lines Press, who I subscribe to.
Miki is the nThis is probably my last book for January in Japan - the second book I've read by Masatsugu Ono from Two Lines Press, who I subscribe to.
Miki is the narrator and has been reading about anthropology in high school, so when her father's police job moves the family to a fishing village (Oita) and people start dropping by to drink and tell stories, she pays attention and tries to figure out how pieces connect and why some stories seem to contradict. The reader is limited to that same information, so it takes a while to realize that there is an underlying history of violence and corruption in the community, not to mention great harm done to children that uncomfortably sits on the page but is never addressed by the characters in the book.
The characters run the gamut from oozing drunkards to strong silent fishermen to cruel children. I think some of the older characters are supposed to read as funny but I was too disturbed to find them amusing. The cover probably symbolizes the red tide that occurs in the story, destroying much of the fish farm and oyster farm infrastructure. It's funny how sometimes when I end a book feeling unsettled (most recently, books from Argentina and Japan) - it's because there is violence that is used as a metaphor. So I've been asking myself what this book is really about. Is it about corruption and violence? Could it also (I'm stretching) be about environmental destruction and the parallel to human corruption? Or have I read Tender Is the Flesh too recently?
A conversation on page 71 makes me think maybe it is just more directly about violence in families and how dangerous it is when it isn't dealt with. I know countries are all on different stages of dealing with domestic violence and the trauma passed down between generations. I did find an article that domestic violence cases had reached an in 2019, and then in 2020, many articles about how pandemic situations have made these situations even worse, as they have everywhere people are stuck together for too long. The first significant study I could find was in 1999 and this book was published in Japan in 2002, so I kind of think I'm on to something.
"'Violence passes from person to person,' Iwaya said, tickling Shiro's neck. 'And it builds up.'"
I haven't yet found many articles or reviews who discuss the book from this angle - so many reviewers want to compare the author to Murakami and interpret the events as weird, as if they are not really happening. But to me the true power of the novel is the idea that they really are, that people choose not to see the dead bodies and the rotten fish and the child chained up in the yard. And they are suffering the consequences....more
I read the last ten percent of this book with my hands over my eyes - it just gets weirder and weirder. It starts with a 9 year old girl who is berateI read the last ten percent of this book with my hands over my eyes - it just gets weirder and weirder. It starts with a 9 year old girl who is berated by her family, assaulted by a teacher, and she seeks comfort with her cousin, believing they are probably both aliens. As an adult she finds a spouse who will commit to an unusual relationship but things come to a head when the families start insisting they comply with social expectations.
The author is intentional about subverting expectations for women, in her own life and in her writing.
Translated into English by Ginny Tapley Takemori, I read this because it is on the Tournament of Books long but not shortlist, and counts for January in Japan....more
I love a literary relationship novel full of nuance and Memorial is just that - Benson and Mike have been together a few years but it has started to sI love a literary relationship novel full of nuance and Memorial is just that - Benson and Mike have been together a few years but it has started to stagnate. Then Mike's mother comes to stay just as he is leaving for Osaka to be with his father who is dying. The story is told first from Benson's perspective as he works his low-wage preschool type job (which he is impressively good at) and deals with Mitsuko in their small apartment; the story shifts to Mike in Osaka. Their backstory fills in along the way. I like how much of the internal narrative we are given, the placeness of both settings (Houston's Third Ward and Osaka), and the feeling of a relationship hanging in the balance.
This came out October 6th and I had a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss....more
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, published in Japan in 2008 and published translated into English in May 2020, is a good reminder of the danger of Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, published in Japan in 2008 and published translated into English in May 2020, is a good reminder of the danger of a single story. A profile of the article in The Guardian five days ago quotes the author as saying, "Japan’s literary universe is still odd, cute and a bit mysterious...But we’re not like that at all. I don’t want to write books that perpetuate that image. I want to write about real people.�
The real people in this book are women - single women - dealing with the realities of a society that is so often blind to what it takes to survive on your own, particularly as you age. As you might imagine from the title, the female body, childbirth, motherhood, and mother-daughter relationships are all major themes. Their lives aren't quirky or flashy, just normal working lives.
The author comes from this kind of background. The other element I'm interested in from my reading is the Osaka dialect which she tried to communicate in writing (which is difficult in logographic kanji, hopefully I'm referring to it properly.) The translators have written about this challenge and my book club should have fun discussing it tomorrow, but I think it comes across best when the characters have been drinking.
This is another book for Women in Translation Month and I think the translation is thoughtful, however I found it ironic that both translators would be male for this very female-centric book. It makes me wonder if there is anything they missed - the author feels it is problematic when men impose legislation without including women without being able to share their experiences - in the same vein why not use a female translator? That really stood out.
Much like my previous review, I feel I enjoyed reading about and around this book more than the book itself, but I can see what she is trying to do and look forward to what she does next....more
This is on the shortlist for the International Booker Prize. The original novel was published in Japanese in 1994, so I struggled a bit with the idea This is on the shortlist for the International Booker Prize. The original novel was published in Japanese in 1994, so I struggled a bit with the idea that all the more contemporary novels were overlooked for this, but I can see that it is pretty standout.
On the Booker page for this novel the translator talks about the resonance of this book specifically in America specifically this year, with a government leaning closer and closer to dictatorship and asking it's citizens to believe things that "simply aren't true." I can see that. Still, the book has a surreal quality that allows the people on the island to just let things happen to them and that in itself is a puzzle - and how does the government make it happen? I can see them using their power to make people go along with something but even a dog wakes up to a leg that disappeared.... (I understand it is allegory, metaphor, fable but still these things are not explained.) I also was not sure why the unnamed narrator builds a place to hide her editor, one person who doesn't forget when he is supposed to. All along she is writing a novel along similar themes but the disappearance of things causes major problems as you can imagine.
This is also a read for Women in Translation Month. I imagine this was a challenge because the language is floaty and so much is passive......more
A man hires a firm to seduce his wife so he has grounds for divorcing her, and she is found murdered by her father. The novel moves back and forth in A man hires a firm to seduce his wife so he has grounds for divorcing her, and she is found murdered by her father. The novel moves back and forth in time between the wife and her daughter as an adult, looking into more of the situation surrounding her mother's death. This is based on a and the author took the idea and ran with it. It's a small thing but I also really loved how she writes the surroundings of each scene - it never bogged down the narrative but I always had a clear picture in my mind of the scene in ways I don't usually have.
The author thanks Louise Doughty in the afterword and I feel like if you have read Doughty you will like this too..it has a feeling of being a thriller but isn't really a thriller, crime elements without being a crime novel.
I had a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss but it's been out since June 23. ...more
This book set in Japan has been translated from.. the German? It's a bizarre experience because you have this German narrator and it changes how I perThis book set in Japan has been translated from.. the German? It's a bizarre experience because you have this German narrator and it changes how I perceive the story - is he speaking in German to the Japanese man he's traveling with? Does the man understand him or is he making that assumption? Gilbert also spent two years in the United States on a failed academic stint, so he might even be using English, but I don't have the assumption that Yosa knows English either. It was on the shortlist for the Booker International Prize last year but I think it only recently came out in the states.
Honestly, it felt like someone interested in Japan threw all the things they knew about it into a pot and tried to come up with a plot to string it all together - Basho and haiku, the Nihon Sankei or the "Three Scenic Places" (roughly), Aokigahara Jukai forest (known as the Suicide Forest), even design elements of the Japanese aesthetic.
It starts with a man who is an academic who studies beards. He has a dream that his wife is cheating on him and he wakes up so sure this is true that he punishes her (she seems okay with it) by flying to Tokyo. Nobody really grows a beard in Tokyo. And he likes coffee, not tea. So why Tokyo? Unclear. Does he speak Japanese? Unclear, as the entire book is translated into English.
He meets a man who wants to kill himself but for some reason allows Gilbert to take over his life and they travel to various spots that Basho once traveled.
In between Gilbert writes letters to Mathilda, his wife, which allow the author to throw more of those details about the "cool stuff in Japan" - but we already know his wife is not actually interested in his research, his interests, and is not interested in hearing from him - why would he even write to her? Why not just keep it at the random haiku? The narrator seems to think it is all resolved in the end but I had a pretty clear sense that what happens next is not what he is hoping.
The publisher blurb describes it as charming and playful but those are almost as bad as describing a book as "funny" because you're assuming the reader finds the same things charming and playful as you. I found the narrator difficult, the situation super depressing, and as for my time... at least it was short.
I had a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss; the book came out stateside April 14....more
I received a copy of this author's newly translated novel yesterday and felt chagrined I had not yet read this one, so I remedied that last night.
I saI received a copy of this author's newly translated novel yesterday and felt chagrined I had not yet read this one, so I remedied that last night.
I saw a review that referred to this as "post-Murakami" and it does feel like it goes along with the shorter, character-driven novels I've read from Japan in the last few years, more often by female writers. It's also post-Murakami in the sense that it's all very much about reality and perception, no bonus moons or mysterious creatures here. Just the weirdness of humanity and nature.
The entire novel is told through the perspective of ten year old Takeru, returning to his mother's home. The reader is never told directly what has happened, and some pieces fall into pieces through what Takeru observes or remembers even if he doesn't understand (some because of age, some because of trauma.)
I also learned from this novel that there is a Tokyo accent. There is an interesting town vs. rural dynamic going on here, but instead of it being people looking down on the small rural town, it's very much the small town people being a bit disdainful of those in Tokyo.
Support small presses! I subscribe to and they send me books every year along the way so really we both benefit. They do important translation work and are able to bring attention to authors that we wouldn't know about otherwise. You can follow the link I already provided to just buy their books too; this is a terribly difficult time for our independent presses and we must do what we can....more
Four interlinked stories in a small Tokyo cafe where time travel is possible if you follow the rules...
I enjoyed the characters in the novel and how yFour interlinked stories in a small Tokyo cafe where time travel is possible if you follow the rules...
I enjoyed the characters in the novel and how you learned their back stories through the stories of others.
I have a review of this book from the publisher in NetGalley, where it says it doesn't come out until November. But I see the book reviewed a lot and on sale various places so who can tell....more
Well, I hate the word Kafkaesque except in this case it really is appropriate - this slim translated novel is about three people recently hired to worWell, I hate the word Kafkaesque except in this case it really is appropriate - this slim translated novel is about three people recently hired to work at a sprawling, city-dwarfing factory, the kind that has bus routes and restaurants to support the workers (or is it to keep them there?) One woman shreds paper at a job she is overqualified for, one man is proofreading documents by hand and battling sleep, and one bryologist has been tasked with something both impossible and that don't seem to actually want him to accomplish.
I've always felt the series of short novels from Japan speak to one another and had to laugh when one character, after thinking negatively about their job, counters with "at least they aren't working at a convenience store." (If you know the novel CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN you will get what I'm saying.)
The concept of senseless work is heavy with dread but feels even worse in this setting. There are other things going on that are a bit confusing - animals that may or may not exist, a dangerous forest on the grounds of the factory, and the sense that in the overwhelming vastness of the factory, there are as many ways to inadvertently violate expectations in each little microcosm. The author communicates the stress of that very well.
While I received a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss, the book came out October 29, 2019....more
I am cycling off a Postal Book Group I participated in from 2015-2019, and The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide was my last read. It started through the BI am cycling off a Postal Book Group I participated in from 2015-2019, and The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide was my last read. It started through the Books on the Nightstand ŷ group, and if you listened to that podcast (R.I.P.) you know that started a while ago!
A married couple lives in a guest house on a larger estate and the slim novel is more about how they relate to the architecture and light of their house, the seasons, other people, Chibi the cat, and so on. This is another novella/short novel from Japan to add to your pile!...more
In my librarian life, I'm always teaching students how a good source can lead to another. This happened recently in my reading life where I found out In my librarian life, I'm always teaching students how a good source can lead to another. This happened recently in my reading life where I found out about The Restaurant of Love Regained by Ito Ogawa (translated from the Japanese) in another recent read, The Girl who Reads on the Métro (translated from the French.) If you like foodie fiction with magical realism but set in Japan, this is the book for you! (Don't go in hungry.)...more
In February and March of my #tbrexplode project, where I started at the beginning of my "want to read" list in ŷ from 2009 and decide whether In February and March of my #tbrexplode project, where I started at the beginning of my "want to read" list in ŷ from 2009 and decide whether I still want to read those books, I hit a wall of Murakami. This book of short stories made the cut, all slightly related to the Great Hanshin, or Kobe, Earthquake that occurred in 1995. I did not understand the Frog story but was very moved by Thailand. . (When I googled the name of the earthquake earlier in March I discovered that there was an earthquake in Japan while I finished this collection, which is a very Murakami thing to happen. I also dreamed about another short story collection by the author called "After the Next Earthquake." Murakami has a way of getting inside your head.)...more
Volume 2 continues the story directly from Volume 1, still during Mike's three week visit to Japan. The themes are overcoming stereotypes and buildingVolume 2 continues the story directly from Volume 1, still during Mike's three week visit to Japan. The themes are overcoming stereotypes and building family, and it was a pleasure to read.
I was sent this by the publisher last year....more
This is a strange short novel, a near future Japan that has once again shut itself off from the world, after environmental issues have caused the eldeThis is a strange short novel, a near future Japan that has once again shut itself off from the world, after environmental issues have caused the elderly to live longer while the children seem unsustainable.
To me this novel connects to The Vegetarian by Han Kang and Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin. The strangeness, the environmental impact causing a change in behavior, the inability the humans in the stories have to change what feels inevitable....more
This is a quick translated work from Japan, about a woman who has separated from her husband and is trying to raise her child. A lot of focus is on thThis is a quick translated work from Japan, about a woman who has separated from her husband and is trying to raise her child. A lot of focus is on the buildings where they live - the rooms, the light, the water, the sounds, the neighbors, the space, the tatami. ...more
Jenny (Reading Envy)
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