Banana Yoshimoto's book gathers three linked stories about women whose lives are disrupted by sleep, loss and the shadow of a dead friend or lover. In the title story, a woman sleeps through most of her days after her friend's death, and her relationships with her lover and his wife become strange. The other stories carry similar moods of drowsiness, dreams and a quiet kind of grief. The writing is spare and dreamlike, typical of Yoshimoto's style.
It suits readers who like short Japanese fiction that mixes the everyday with the supernatural. It is a gentle book for evenings, best read slowly and in one sitting.
Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1989
- Language
- EN
