 |
| The Premonition / Banana Yoshimoto trans. from the Japanese by Asa Yoneda Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2023, c1988. 144 p. |
I really love Banana Yoshimoto. So I was delighted when I saw that there was a new translation of one of her earlier books. I got it from the library as soon as I could, and started in.
It's a very Yoshimoto book - disaffected main character, odd family configurations, intense melancholy/nostalgia, slow moving with lots of quiet moments. I enjoyed much of that.
The main character, Yayoi, is 19, from a stable nuclear family, but starting to feel like she's missing something. She feels more connected to Yukino, her odd recluse aunt, recently, and decides to go stay with her. Maybe in her aunt's odd way of living, Yayoi will find the peace she's looking for.
Things start to shift, and Yayoi discovers that her family isn't quite what she thought it was. Then Yukino disappears, and Yayoi and her ever-cheery brother head off to look for her, encountering Yukino's love interest along the way.
And this is where it got weird and lost me. There are two taboo relationships that appear here, the student-teacher one with Yukino and the "not really" incest relationship between Yayoi and her so-called brother. Not sure how this went over in 1988 in Japan, but it made the story too much for me now. There have been relationships on the edge in some of Yoshimoto's other books, but with this one there isn't much else to the story, so there's nothing to balance it out. I found the book a bit vague and forgettable in many ways. Definitely not my favourite Yoshimoto. Waiting for the next translation, to see if another story might live up to Kitchen or Moshi Moshi for me!
Definitely a typical Yoshimoto book, which is why I enjoyed it so much. I agree that the relationships are taboo, which definitely gave me pause. That's a good point, I wonder how the book was received when she wrote it. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI have only read one of her books. Maybe I will try Moshi Moshi next
ReplyDelete