The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 2 January 2002
by Banana Yoshimoto
In the afterword of this spare novel, Yoshimoto says that she had set out to explore many of the powerful themes that interest her. Into such a brief and intense book, it would be hard to compress so much story telling. Indeed, the result does focus on one overarching theme, with the several others touched upon with varying degrees of success. The author of a collection of stories published them in the United States under the title N.P. (short for North Point). The final story, the 98th, tells of a man who unknowingly engaged in an incestuous relationship with his daughter. The author finally killed himself. That final story and his death are shadowy influences on his survivors. A translator kills himself, too. The author's twin children, Otohiko and Saki are overwhelmed by a sense of tragedy. Otohiko's girlfriend, Sui, is obsessed by N.P. and carries her own secrets with her. Rounding out the characters is the narrator, the girlfriend of the dead translator. For one summer, they form a tight circle of exploration and loss. Their relationships are, figuratively and literally, incestuous. The story doesn't move very quickly. In fact, it is more a mood piece, as the narrator unearths the past of this strange family, and finds a connection to her own sense of loss and purpose in life. Other themes, such as lesbian love, are not as well treated as the overall sense of tragic family connections and loss. Incest is a deeply touchy subject for any sort of artistic expression (the last I saw was Voyager, a 1991 movie with Sam Shepard and Julie Delpy). It seems that the safest approach is "accidental" incest, since the author could otherwise be construed as advocating such taboo relationships. Yoshimoto dances deftly around the ethical and personal dilemmas that the subject raises, and ends up with a sometimes touching and usually troubling story of literary obsession. The writing is energetic, wry and full of lovely observations. Unique.
Also by Yoshimoto: [Kitchen]