so-soPensive and atmospheric, Kawabata‘s last novel, left unfinished when he died. We never hear from the young woman brought to an asylum by her mother and fiancé in an attempt to cure her “body blindness,” her inability to see her lover in times of excitement. Communication through the pealing of bells. Father‘s life lost in a riding accident on a cliff. All very dramatic, almost Gothic. Trauma, memory, couples, bodies, guilt. Trans. 2017
#WeeklyFavorites
This week‘s favorite is Mina‘s Matchbox but I don‘t think it‘ll make the list of my favorite books this year. Still working on my favorite October read!
Online #independentbookshopday #bookmail!
pickMina‘s Matchbox is a tender, heartwarming Japanese story that follows 12-year-old Tomoko, who spends a year with her family in Ashiya in 1972. Alongside her cousin Mina and a pygmy hippo, she experiences quiet, everyday moments that somehow feel magical. Even though nothing much happens the book‘s gentle tone, nostalgia, and simplicity made me slow down and cherish what I read.
📸 Mussels, local specialty in Zeeland
Reading…
When a young man‘s girlfriend mysteriously vanishes, he is brokenhearted and determined to find the imaginary town where he suspects she has taken up residence.
pickMonths ago I filled out a questionnaire in the New York Times that would pick out a perfect book for me and this is the one I got. It‘s a short story collection, interconnected in odd ways, telling a futuristic story about mankind, AI, cloning and survival. I really liked the way the stories tied together at the end, hopeful and thought-provoking.
so-soI don‘t know. I just don‘t know. I liked it more than Lizard but it‘s not in the same category as Kitchen or NP. The beginning was great and then it fizzled. But it wasn‘t bad. I‘m just at a loss for words.
