Goodbye Tsugumi: Book Review
I first fell in love with Banana Yoshimoto’s writing in CEGEP when we had to read Kitchen as an international component of a Literature class. Actually, thinking back, the entire literature program offered by the International Baccalaureate was just fabulous. We also read Cymbeline, King Lear, WWI poetry by Owen, Sassoon and Rosenberg, Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Wars. From this list are four of my favourite authors and one of my favourite Shakespeare plays as well as my favourite poem… And just this week i was thinking that the IB was a huge waste of time… I must rethink that.
Goodbye Tsugumi was exactly what i expected of Yoshimoto. I can’t really explain what that means though for her writing is … light, almost trite, yet profound and unexpected. Her characters approach the world from a perspective so radically different from my own i find it difficult to believe how caught up i get in their memories, feelings and relationships. The main character, Maria, returns to the seaside town where she grew up after a year living with in Tokyo and has to come to turns with her adulthood, her relationship with her frail yet passionate cousin Tsugumi and the nostalgia for things past. It’s just lovely… Tsugumi is a great character, unbelievable at times, but since the story isn’t told from her perspective it isn’t entirely a problem. I love how Yoshimoto always has at least one transgressional romantic relationship in her books… and this one was no exception.
I know i have been neglecting the online world. I haven’t posted in over a week, am not checking my emails and just don’t feel like being caught up in my own head right now. I figure it will pass. Another chapter is due tomorrow… i am scared about being able to pull off what now looks like the impossible again. Eep. My time has pretty much been completely devoted to Latin and working lately… and if you need to contact me… try facebook.
Written by Featherina
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 am
Tagged with books, CEGEP, Literature
Yeah, come to think of it, you’re right. With the exception of Madame Bovary, some of the most enjoyable books that I’ve read were from the IB “Martin Bowman” list.
Of course, can’t forget the Neruda poetry that Maggie had us read.
Angelo
24 Jun 08 at 2:18 pm
Hrm… I can’t seem to get my hands on any Yoshimoto books without ordering them internationally fnord. Not impossible, but more costly that I’d like. Then again with a recommendation like that, I may as well give in a spend the money and place the order. As Desiderius Erasmus said so elloquently, “When I have a little money, I buy books. And if any is left, I buy food and clothing.”
Now, I like to eat, but yeah, sometimes books do come first. Especially when I walk into a book store without thinking about my budget fnord.
Anyway, since you gave such a strong recommendation, I’ll point out that for the 2nd time in two weeks Chuck Palahniuk has caused large segments of time in my life to vanish. For the second time in two weeks I sat down just to begin one of his books and came to myself only when I was completely finished. Cover-to-cover in a single sitting… twice. The first was Rant and the second was Snuff. I think Rant was the better of the two, but I’m still processing both of them, so I’m not sure.
If for any reason, though, you have yet to READ Fight Club, you should fix that straight away. The rest of his books are also worth reading, but I found those three to be his strongest pieces.
Hail Eris! All hail Discordia!
Soch
25 Jun 08 at 6:37 am
I tend the browsing paperbacks collection at a branch library. There are a couple Banana Yoshimoto books getting dizzy on the spinny racks. Browsing paperbacks get a couple years out there before being yanked for something fresh. When their time has come I sometimes read the discards; I’ll take a closer look at the Yoshimoto books then.
Glenn Ingersoll
6 Jul 08 at 2:30 pm