by Mieko Kawakami
I find works translated from Japanese very weird but strangely addictive and enjoyable.
But mostly weird. The characters seems so childish often that I have to wonder if it is a question of translation or language or if this is actually how the characters are portrayed in Japanese writing.
I also find the odd details very peculiar. Seemingly random info is included – …I w0ke up and realised I had been sick for about a week and my phone was not on charge and there was 13% left on the battery….. like so what? why the 13% detail? it made no difference to the story at all. A dead phone is a moment, a phone full charged when you have been sick for a week is a moment – but 13% is random and irrelevant.
That being said there are also so weirdly perfect randomness. ‘….he suit made him look like an old police chief…’ That perfectly creates the crumpled image the author was going for.
This book is ultimately very beautiful despite all the moments of huh. This book is about three women but it is also about women and womenhood. Because I heard about the book from the Reading Women podcast I had heard conversation about how very restrictive life in Japan for women. Being aware of that made the commentary about repression, control over reproduction, men’s and society’s expectations of women easier to understand. I must say that I thought Japan much more progressive than it seems it is.
I did cringe when being cis was described as ‘normal’ and felt that that was unnecessary. The book is so about female body biology and how society reacts to the workings thereof that that could have just not been included.
Interesting, peculiar, anything but sparse, seemingly random at times with odd meanders into what felt like lectures – I am really not even sure what I think of this book
Kind of how I feel after reading any Japanese authors I have tried.
And try I will continue because there is something about them I really like while being totally puzzled.