Welcome to Litsy!

Written in the 1940s about the lives of the 4 well to-do Makioka sisters this had all the elements of translated Japanese fiction I enjoy; the gentle style, the formality with which people address each other, the need for rules, politeness and order. And yet, this was just so incredibly slow. Even the drama unfolds painfully slowly. At first I settled into the pace, but around 300 pages in I was getting impatient and it was a struggle to finish.

We follow the Makioka family that are far from their prosperous days and their efforts of marrying off Yukiko, the 3rd sister. We learn about the intricacies of Japanese customs and social norms. Taeko, the 4th sister, is unable to marry until her elder sister has married who is reaching her mid-thirties.

I find the read monotone but enjoyable. It‘s almost like you are living with the sisters and during the years prior to the WWII.

Thank you for a perfect #wws #winterwonderlandcswap package, @Born.A.Reader - everything is great. During the Christmas cold snap, I was cursing myself for not buying new gloves, and now I don't have to! And so much raspberry hot chocolate. I love it. And I've been meaning to read the tagged book forever, so excited to have a copy. Thank you!

@Chrissyreadit @Avanders @TheBookHippie

a beautiful copy thrifted for cheap today.The sticker is ok as it reminds me of hours of wonderful browsing at San Francisco‘s branch of Kinokuniya !

I found it very repetitive, but I came to love the three younger sisters. Each personality was very distinct and I enjoyed seeing a pre WWII look at a well-to-do Japanese family. #20thcenturyclassic @arubabookwoman @sprainedbrain @jmofo

I am finally, very belatedly, and with many apologies sending my #20thCenturyClassics book onto you Tammy @Butterfinger . This was a lovely family saga of life in pre-WW II Japan, as a family tries to marry off the third daughter so that the youngest (and 4th) daughter can marry her fiancee. It should arrive Thursday. @sprainedbrain @jmofo

Book post just arrived 👍🏻❤️ The Makioka Sisters was recently recommended by @erzascarletbookgasm , and it caught my eye as one I might like. What would we do without all the wonderful Litsy recommendations
Thanks Jessie.

#7days7covers #covercrush Day 2

Would you like to show your favourites @TorieStorieS ?
7 days, 7 covers, use the hashtags, tag someone.

A few books that are #biginjapan
🌸PICK- Convenience Store Woman
🌸So-So- Norwegian Wood
🌸BAIL-Memoirs of a Geisha

🌸TBR- The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell
🌸The Makioka Sisters by Jun‘ichirō Tanizaki
#wanderingjune

A measured, dispassionate story of 4 sisters adhering to traditions as they scout a husband for their reticent 3rd sister while WWII looms in the background. Simplicity is not simplistic: Told all we seemingly need to know about them, still the younger two remain unknowable. For a book on marriage, it is devoid of romance and affirms to the end the absence of certainty in anything. A fascinating look at a particular point in Japanese culture.

Just read the final sentence. 😳😂?! What a book!

I want to go! 💡

One advantage to having things go a little awry with a postal bookclub is that previously secret books are now revealed, so I can decide whether or not to buy my own copy and read while I wait for late books to arrive. Obviously, since I have no self-control, I bought copies of the final three books I have to read. This one arrived today. #sorrynotsorry 🤷🏻‍♀️

At the dealer getting the truck worked on & they don‘t know how long it will take. Maybe long enough to finish this book? I have another in the car just in case 🤓

Tea ✅
Good book ✅
Great British Bake-off in the background ✅
I would say I‘m set for the evening, but now I want a cookie & sadly I have none in the house.

Going to have breakfast with the fiancé this morning but he had to run into work for 20 minutes first. Told him I‘m fine waiting in the car - I have my book ?

I often wish I read more translated fiction; particularly books from the far #east such as the tagged book from Japan. This was a fascinating look at an upper class family on the decline in the years leading up to WWII. #ReadingResolutions @Jess7

Not able to readathon this weekend but did manage to go out and celebrate Independent Bookstore Day. Here is my haul. I am tempted to put myself on a book buying ban now but we all know that isn‘t realistic.

1. 49 F & ☀️
2. Asparagus from my garden - pan seared with garlic & olive oil
3. The Makioka Sisters. Tagging @OrangeMooseReads

This started off slow for me, but from about chapter 5 onwards, I couldn‘t put it down. It‘s an intimate look at the lives of four sisters of the upper classses of society in Japan in the years leading to WW2. A poignant portrait of the Makioka clan, particularly the women, and their relationships with each other. Their clinging-on to a way of life that is fast vanishing into modernity. 👇

Book haul at a local used bookstore. I don‘t know how long I can put off TheMakioka Sisters

Thank you, @BarbaraTheBibliophage ! It arrived way sooner than I expected, considering the distance. Love it! 💜😘

My library haul from today! Both Wool and The Makioka Sisters were based at our local high school library - good job school librarians! Where to start; any suggestions Littens?

An obi is a sash for traditional Japanese dress. This scene reminds me of wearing a corset, having the laces pulled tight to achieve a smaller waist. 👘
#currentread

From my TBR mountain.🙄Love this cover❤️. Apparently it reads like a Jane Austen novel, with its tale of an arranged marriage intended to restore the family name.

#150PnPCoverParty #sisters @CrowCAH @LeahBergen

Also a Christmas gift! This has been on my want to read list forever, but it is so long, so I gave up before I started 🙈 but it looks like a good read ❤️
#junichirotanizaki #booklove #christmas #ilovebooks #booksbooksbooks #christmasgifts

M - (The) Makioka Sisters
A - Anna Karenina
R - Rebecca
Y - Year of Wonders

This was more difficult than I thought. I haven‘t read many books that start with Y! #booknames

I'm late!

There's a September wrap up video over on booktube, too: https://youtu.be/BbiirZdQb68

If you want to dive in Japanese culture, this is the book. It's much more than a novel about arranged marriage, it's about family and its challenges no matter where we are from, and so much more. "Magisterial evocation of a proud Osaka family in decline during the years immediately before World War II is arguably the greatest Japanese novel of the 20th and a classic of international literature." Entertainment level: ?????

Sweet Friday. Trying to read more pages tonight, watching Lady Gaga Five Foot Two and waiting for Bon Jovi's concert at Rock in Rio (stream).

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Regional divides, stereotypes, and prejudices are a major theme of this novel, which I hope to finish up – finally – today or tomorrow!

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Loving this book. I'm learning new things about my family's culture. 🍣

Great author. #quotes

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Even though I'm little more then halfway through reading this, I can already exclaim full-throatedly that this is the best novel ever about #siblings.

#AwesomeAutumnBooks

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When a family tree is needed to follow all of the people😊

'She' is Taeko, the youngest of the four Makioka sisters—and fast becoming my favorite!

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The Doll Festival, or Girls Day, is still a big cultural thing today in Japan. At the time of Tanizaki's novel it was celebrated a month later in Osaka than in Tokyo but now it is early March throughout the country.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri
#QuoteOfTheDay

"Although Tatsuo for his part admitted that Yukiko was not unintellectual, he had concluded that, for a thoroughly Japanese girl whose reserve was extreme, a quiet, secure life in a provincial city, free from needless excitement, would be ideal, and it had not occurred to him that the lady herself might object. But the shy, introverted Yukiko, unable though she was to open her mouth before strangers, had a hard core...

#QuoteOfTheDay

One of the books I'd never lend. Three very different sisters live in Osaka before WWII. One embraces modernity and independence enthusiastically, the others are more reluctant. Problems within the family & major outside events combined with vivid descriptons of family life make this book come alive. Had an epic feel to it, and I felt a bit cheated rhat the book had to end - as I almost always do with books that I love.

1. Expat in Maryland
2. Saw it mentioned on @ReadingEnvy 's podcast - ty! 😁
3. Persepolis
4. No, I've specialized in cats so far. Don't think my 17 yr old kitty wd like to share ownership of me w/ a turtle..
@saguarosally #welcomelitten #catonmyheadhavetostop

I enjoyed this book very much. Originally written in Japanese, it follows the four Makioka sisters through various trials in the middle of the last century. If you like fast-paced books, this will not be for you. It is like watching a slowly meandering creek. What I really appreciated is that even though I am separated from these characters by time and culture, I found they had many relatable concerns.

Well, hello, gorgeous #bookmail ! This is the Vintage edition and I love it, especially compared with the decaying Everyman's Library copy that I borrowed from the library.

This is 100% to blame on @shawnmooney 😘