A young woman, Tomoko, goes to live with her aunt and uncle in a villa in Ashiya, Japan, in the early 1970s, where she befriends her cousin Mina, a girl with asthma who travels to school on a pygmy hippo named Pochiko. Mina collects matchboxes and writes small stories inspired by the pictures on their labels, and Tomoko recalls this year as a time of private wonder, family secrets and small losses. Yōko Ogawa writes in a quiet, precise style with tender observations and gentle melancholy, and the matchbox stories appear as illustrated interludes.
It suits readers who like delicate, nostalgic fiction and Japanese literature at its most understated. The book rewards a slow, attentive read.
Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2006
- Language
- EN
