Banana Yoshimoto

I love Banana Yoshimoto, and not just because she has a great name or because the first picture I saw of her was the best author shot ever (knowing, impish smile; witchy-poo shoes; and on the "backside" of the picture, she was hiding a bouquet of wildflowers in her hands, that you couldn't see from the front. It's on one of the tradepaper editions of Kitchen). I love wheat she writes about: quirky people who are real, but not necessarily likeable and in situations that aren't probable, but show more ring true. (I'm also told by reviewers that she does this with a "Japanese sensibility, whatever that means.)

Goodbye Tsugumi is certainly like this: an unlikeable girl making those around her miserable(at least when the book starts; part of its beauty is that her behavior is no more likeable by the end of the book, but through understanding Tsugumi, I came to like her anyway).

Unfortunately, I feel like the book cheaps out at the end. That last chapter becomes too neat and too nice. What was a book that nods at how human nature is messy and conflicted neatens up the way I'd expect some YA novel to. I liked that I never knew how the book was going to end (I thought I did, but I didn't), but this was not even the far-left-field ending, it was the we-were-playing-field-hockey-but-now-I'm-going-put-the-8- ball-in-the-corner-pocket ending.

Save yourself the pain- read the book (it's a quick read, and takes place at a beach, so maybe nice for summer?) but just skip the last chapter and choose your own ending. show less

Molto Personale

Toccante come sempre. Temi semplici su cui riflettere, sentimenti e vicende che nella vita ci toccano a tutti e forse è per questo che ci si sente così vicini. Una persona che non c'è più e che vorremmo incontrare almeno un'ultima volta, per sapere se sta bene, se è in pace, o forse perchè in pace non ci siamo noi. Comunque sia, la leggerezza e la delicatezza della Yoshimoto nel trattare queste emozioni non può lasciare indifferenti. Anche se non vi è capitato, la sue show more parole vi rapiscono e vi portano dentro la storia. Ed a un tratto quella storia siete voi. show less

Of the few novels I've read by this author, this one just became my favorite. The story is of a young woman whose life becomes entwined with the children of a recently deceased novelist. We learn that this woman was the girlfriend of the novel's translator, a relationship which unfortunately ended with the latter's suicide.

What I liked most about this novel was that I wasn't certain where the story was taking me or whether I should feel frightened by it. Yoshimoto often uses death as a show more theme, with this book being no different in that respect. The story also has an undertone of deep sadness, again a feeling which pervades much of Yoshimoto's writing. The narrative is sparse, a common trait of translated Japanese literature.

I felt the book's strongest theme had to do with the uncertainties of friendship. One can sometimes be unsure of what motivates a friendship. Since I wasn't certain of this with the story's characters, that was one of the reasons I felt on edge throughout the book. In the end, though, I was satisfied with both the surrealistic way in which the story was told as well as its its final outcome. The story is definitely worth a read, and, if you've never read anything else by Banana Yoshimoto before, this novel would be a fine place to begin. show less

Carpe Diem
🎧
“That time had been a gift from fortune, like a blanket gently laid over me by the heavens. It had been suffused with a rare joy, like if you made a curry and thrown in some leftover yogurt and spices apples, and maybe some extra onion on a whim and ended up in a one in a million chance with a dish that was immeasurably delicious but which you had no chance of creating. It had been an interlude that had shone so brightly because I hadn’t expected anything from anyone; I show more hadn’t needed to accomplish anything. Realizing this only deepened my sadness and gratitude.”
- From the title story of Dead-end Memories.

The six stories of optimism born of sorrow together with the gentle writings of Banana Yoshimoto make for a soothing read in troubled times.

They are very Japanese, very Zen, very gentle. The stories are based on every-day life events where there’s an interruption that leads to an overcoming. Darling buds of May inevitably trounce sorrow, and life goes on in any case.

Daily life centers upon life at work, eating in company restaurants, dating, marriage breakups, childhood - usual life experiences in a Japanese cultural context. But in each story there are disruptions that are overcome and individuals’ inner harmony is strengthened.

In one story there’s a rape and the young woman is able to overcome the trauma, and through her recovery becoming stronger. In another, a woman is poisoned by a disgruntled copy-editor who wanted the writer of the book he was editing, to include him as a co-author. The victim is seriously ill for months but is able to expunge the poison from her body, using the experience to purge herself of inner poison thus making her a better human being.

An adorable child who Budha-like sees beauty in people’s souls is kidnapped by his biological unmarried mother. She had sold him to a wealthy family where he was accepted as the son of the wealthy married man who had seduced her. Regretting her action the mother forcibly takes the boy back, bundling him into a car and speeding away, resulting in a crash where both are killed. But though he left behind sorrow, the child’s absence also left memories of his goodness.

Life goes on, and while reading I couldn’t help but thinking of MontyPython’s song, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. But there’s more to the book than that. Even I, a cynic was tempted by the optimism of the writer’s characters. Though optimism isn’t quite the word I’m looking for. It’s not that the characters take disruptions and attacks in their stride, nor is it submission, nor the British stiff-upper lip. It’s more about taking what life gives you and finding the goodness that may emerge from bad outcomes. It’s about one’s inner-life rather than external disruptions. It’s about an attitude to living that allows joy to enter one’s life and how happy memories sustain it. show less