Banana Youshimoto's depiction of the lives of Japanese youth has changed her country's literature and earned international acclaim. In her latest work, she delivers two tales of resonant grace, of young women coming to terms with change and heartbreak.
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Banana Youshimoto's depiction of the lives of Japanese youth has changed her country's literature and earned international acclaim. In her latest work, she delivers two tales of resonant grace, of young women coming to terms with change and heartbreak.
Read Less
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Good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 160 p. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 160 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 160 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
"Hardboiled and Hard Luck" are two novellas, each dealing with death (common Yoshimoto topic). In the first, a young woman travels to a small motel in the more remote part of Japan. While on her trip, she starts to have feelings of discomfort and general eerieness. It's only when she arrives at her motel does she remember that today is the anniversary of her lover's death. Again, typical of Yoshimoto, the protagonist's deceased lover was also a woman, though the relationship was less serious for the protagonist. Plainly put, the protagonist used her lover for emotional and financial support and when she got tired of it, she left. Now, after her lover's accidental death in a fire, we the reader gets to hear her self-indulgent thoughts on how miserable she is in thinking about the lover she abandoned. Yeah, no. Next.
"Hard Luck" is a little more tolerable as the characters manage to be a bit more sympathetic. It centers around a woman whose sister is in a coma with no hope of ever reviving. As she begins to come to terms with her sibling's approaching death, she forms a bond with her sister's fiance's brother, who has been visiting the hospital just about every day. There's not much of a plot momentum in Hard Luck. It's basically one person learning to cope with a death that doesn't happen suddenly, but in slow, small degrees that kill her a centimeter at a time. Still, there was something lacking in the characters, so much so that I didn't feel like they were solid people, but mere sketches that Yoshimoto never bothered completely work out.
