{"id":4117,"date":"2018-09-26T10:03:38","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T04:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/?p=4117"},"modified":"2020-02-21T16:53:18","modified_gmt":"2020-02-21T11:23:18","slug":"japanlit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/japanlit\/","title":{"rendered":"#JapanLit : Joy of Routine, A Strange Love Story & A Dystopian Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"
2018 has been exceptionally kind because almost all books that were buzzing in literary news have lived up to the hype. Convenience store woman<\/em>\u00a0is one of them. It is short and brisk and fills you with empathy towards those who try so hard to fit in the guidelines imposed by our society. Other highly hyped novels that I absolutely loved this year include Normal People<\/em>, The Poppy war<\/em><\/a><\/span>, Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine<\/em><\/a><\/span>, Circe<\/em><\/a><\/span> and A place for us<\/em><\/a><\/span>. I was elated to receive a package from Granta to kickstart their #Japanlit campaign to promote Japanese literature. The Last Children of Tokyo<\/em> was my first dystopian novel from Japan and it stood out because of the excellent use of language (kudos to both the author and the translator). Strange Weather in Tokyo<\/em> was on my TBR list for a long time because of what an amazing writer Kawakami is; and true to the hype, it was a glorious read. society. individuality. routine<\/em> Keiko\u2019s mind is fascinating. She does not understand why \u2018normal\u2019 human beings are shallow and fake. She tries to mimic the facial expressions of her colleagues to express her emotions in order to be accepted in their circles. She does not feel the need for companionship or a higher paying job to be happy. She crosses paths with another misfit named Shiraha, a lazy sexist and decides to live together to project the \u2018couple\u2019 image in her friend and family circles. She does not understand the concept of love, but rather describes this as \u2018keeping a pet\u2019. \u00a0This was a sharp contrast to the friendship developed in Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine<\/em>. While Eleanor had an enabling friendship that eventually helps her to understand herself better, Keiko has a friendship that is more of parasitic in nature than symbiotic. Keiko realizes soon enough that the society is never happy \u2013 more questions of financial security, status, kids hound her and she contemplates if such an arrangement is worth it after all. The more she questions, she gains more insight into her own mind and happiness.<\/p>\n
\n3 books written by women set in Japan and they are all fabulous @grantabooks #translated #JapanLit <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\nConvenience Store Woman<\/h2>\n
\nKeiko is odd. Keiko is eccentric. Keiko has never really fitted in anywhere. Perhaps Keiko is an undiagnosed patient in the autistic spectrum, we never know. But what we do know is routine soothes her, she finds joy in the mundane and tries hard to lead a normal life that is acceptable to the people around her. Keiko reminded me of Honeyman\u2019s Eleanor (in Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine<\/em><\/a><\/span>), a brutal version of Eleanor actually. Both of them adore their work, but Eleanor is more of a loner while Keiko has no insight on acceptable social behaviour (She thinks cooking a dead bird found in the park is more logical than mourning for it and making a grave for it; She hits a fighting boy on the head with a spade because that would ‘shut him up’).<\/p>\nThe mind and its working<\/h4>\n