Let's Jump Through Japan

Short Reviews of Japanese Translated Fiction

#InvisibleCitiesProject

 The Housekeeper and the Professor

By: Yoko Ogawa Translated by: Stephen Snyder

    Having only read one previous book by Ogawa, The Memory Police, to which my reaction was less than enthusiastic due to the detached writing style, I had little hope for this short novel. My concerns were proven wrong, The Housekeeper and the Professor deserves all the acclaim it has received. 

   The writing style that I previously had issue with in this context worked well to convey the stunning story of familial love between a housekeeper, her son, and their client (The Professor). The premise of this book is that The Professor was in an automobile accident causing brain damage that limits his memory to eighty minutes, thus he needs the housekeeper to clean the home and prepare food. The Professor's world revolves around numbers, probability, and the statistics of events; be that coincidences between birth dates, addresses, or baseball batting averages, The Professor teaches the housekeeper and her son (Route) lessons of math and familial love. Writing about math in this detached manner forces the reader to think about the concepts and relationships present on the page. 

    The theme of found family and familial love is a theme that is constantly discussed in this novel. The idea of a found family resonates profoundly with my life. Growing up I did not connect with many in my small town school, be that friendships or otherwise, that said, upon attending university I was able to build my "found family". The Fam as we call each other is a group of two extremely close friends. A year and a half out of university we continue to chat on a daily/weekly basis to support one another. The Professor, Route, and the housekeeper have a similar dynamic; loving, kind, compassionate, helpful, and invested in one another's lives. Over the course of the novel The Professor becomes a father-like figure to Route, teaching mathematics, listening to his stories, sharing interest in baseball, and nurturing the small child. 

    Upon closing the final page of this novel I found that I was invested in these characters lives, their mistakes, joy, and hardships. It will be many months before the feeling of euphoria and joy cease. I have since purchased a copy for my shelves so that I can reread this book in the future, the true testament of a good book.

Star Rating: 5/5

Before the Coffee Gets Cold 

By: Toshikazu Kawaguchi Translated by: Geoffery Trousselot 

    This novel fell short of my expectations. While the themes discussed and characters were engaging, the clinical writing style and disjointed plotting limited my enjoyment of the story. Since translated fiction generally has a limited readership I will keep this discussion brief to limit the negative discussion of translated fiction. I genuinely believe there are many who will love this book. This book is for you if you enjoy quirky characters, short chapters, repetitive action sequences,  thought provoking themes, and clear/precise prose. My major issues with the novel were regarding the prose, disjointed plot, and repetitive action sequences. 

    The themes discussed in this novel include: lessons to create a meaningful life, the importance of familial relationships, and mortality. Understanding how other countries than my own (United States Of America) value life and how one can create a meaningful life is always interesting. The American way to have a meaningful life is to work diligently, build a family, attain wealth and material possessions, and helping those in need. That said in this novel we see that in Japanese culture, the creation of family and maintaining strong bonds mean everything. This is an interesting distinction because while in the US we say family matters, many of us get lost into our work and forget to slow down and spend time with loved ones in the pursuit of monetary wealth, Japan emphasizes the need to remain connected. This is something I wish would be adopted culturally in the US. 

    As a thought experiment this novel worked well to give a snapshot of Japanese life, with a smattering of magical realism thrown in. If you are looking for a short novel that explores pertinent themes, uses magical realism, and focusses on Japanese life I would wholeheartedly recommend this novel. 

Star Rating: 3/5

Earthlings 

By: Sayaka Murata Translated by: Ginny Tapley Takemori

    This is a close second for my favorite book that I read in January for the Invisible Cities Project. In typical Murata style this book dissects societal norms through the lense of non-conforming characters. This novel discusses the societal expectation to reproduce and become a "productive" member of the "factory" type of society in which we have built. 

    Murata's prose is always a perfect rendition of her characters personality. In this novel, the main characters begin as children and grow throughout the course of this short novel. She captures childhood innocence, love, curiosity, and naivety perfectly. Our main character imagines an alien planet called Papinpapapia where those who do not conform to society on Earth live. On this planet she believes love can manifest in many forms, you do not have to focus on becoming a part of the economic machine, and everyone can live together happily. Her imaginary friend from this alien planet is a stuffed hedgehog who we see illustrated on the cover, he acts as her guiding light throughout her life to break free of "The Factory's" constraints.  The observations made by our main character about the "factory" like nature of society are astute, searing, and all too pertinent in our modern world. Often I have come to similar conclusions about the goal of society. We are judged based on our work and children's accomplishments. This ranking system is not healthy, prioritizing work above family, friends and time to recharge has put us on a dangerous path to burnout.

    This book does come with a few trigger warnings for violence, incest, and death of an elderly family member, I would caution any reader sensitive to these issues to skip this book. However, if you are able to handle these difficult topics, and are intrigued by the premise I urge you to pick this novel up. Murata is a master of writing captivating short novels with rich characters and sharp social commentary that speak to our collective experience. We have all experienced the feeling of being unmoored with no direction in life, be that due to societal pressures, lack of connection, or a combination; Murata uses this emotion to show readers they are not alone in Earthlings. 

This novel will surely be in my top books of 2021! 

Star Rating: 5/5

January was a successful way to kick off the Invisible Cities Project for 2021, it pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me the opportunity to find two new favorite novels. I will continue to push myself in the coming months to experience the world from a variety of perspectives that differ from my own, with the hopes of finding many more new favorites. If you have not joined in with Invisible Cities please consider taking on this challenge and expanding your reading life into translated fiction.  We can be found on Discord at: https://discord.com/channels/762834019950919691/763383698384355330