Granta 127: Japan by
Yuka Igarashi
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
Interesting collection, although in some cases the connection to Japan was tenuous at best. In fact, now that I think about it, the story Final Fantasy III by Tao Lin may have been making fun of this collection, as the author is a Taiwanese-American who needs to write a short story about Japan.
My favorite stories were:
A Clean Marriage, Things Remembered and Things Forgotten, Spider Lilies, Pig Skin, Scavengers, and possibly After the War, Before the War.
Anyway, here are some of my notes for each story (PROBABLY CONTAINS SPOILERS):
A Clean Marriage, by Sayaka Murata: Interesting, odd, weird. I liked it. A man and woman decide to have a "clean marriage" (completely platonic). Things get complicated when they decide to have a child.
Breakfast, by Toshiki Okada: Kind of odd. I didn't dislike it. A wife leaves her husband to work in Fukushima. The story takes place when she returns to break things off forever with the husband. The husband is understanding. The narration is a bit odd (on purpose).
Variations on a Theme by Mister Donut, by David Mitchell. This is by David Mitchell, whose name I always notice in bookstores because I think it's the comedian. Anyway, interesting premise, involving the same incidents through various points of view, all taking place inside a Mister Donut. Maybe it's just me, but many of the characters seemed stereotypical portrayals.
Linked, by Ruth Ozeki: By a half Japanese half american, about her grandfather, including a photo of him.
Things Remembered and Things Forgotten, by Kyoko Nakajima: Probably my favorite thus far. A man goes to visit his brother suffering from Alzheimer's in an old folks' home. Told through the present and flashbacks.
Final Fantasy III, by Tao Lin: Meh. A Taiwanese-American asks his parents their thoughts on the Japanese
Primal Mountain: I mean, ok...
Blue Moon, by Hiromi Kawakami. I'm a fan of Kawakami's. This story seemed more autobiographical than anything. The narrator gets diagnosed with a tumor (90% chance it is malignant, 10% chance of survival if it is). She then heads to a literature conference in Russia.
The Japanese Firefly Squid, by Kimiko Hahn: A poem
Spider Lilies, by Hiroko Oyamada: I liked this one. I'm curious to read more by the author. Oh, I just realized she's the author of The Factory!
The Beauty of the Package, by Pico Iyer. Interesting. More of an armchair anthropological study of a Japanese wedding.
Pig Skin, by Andres Felipe Solano: I enjoyed this one. A creative premise and follow-through. I'm curious about this author's other work
Printable, by Toh Enjoe: This story wrinkled my brain. It was too meta and labyrinthine for me.
After the War, Before the War, by David Peace: Interesting. Seems to be the beginning of a (possible fictionalized) biography about Ryunosuke Akutagawa. I might want to read it all when it is written. Also, turns out I had written another piece by the same author in The Book of Leeds.
Scavengers, by Adam Johnson. Having visited North Korea, it was interesting to read about someone else's experience. And I'm glad I was able to actually obtain something made there (I think), unlike the author.
The Dogs, by Yukiko Motoya: I had already read this one in Motoya's short story collection.
Arrival Gates, by Rebecca Solnit: This was obviously a very important experience for the author. I'm not sure I felt the same. Although I really want to visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine now.
Pink, by Tomuyuki Hoshino: That was weird. There was some symbolism there - I think for the evils of progress - which I didn't really get. It is ultra hot in Tokyo, so people start spinning clockwise to cool off.
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MONKEY New Writing from Japan: Volume 4: MUSIC by Ted Goossen
