LIFE FOR SALE by Yukio Mishima

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Knopf
Publishing date April 21, 2020

About

After botching a suicide attempt, salaryman Hanio Yamada decides to put his life up for sale in the classifieds section of a Tokyo newspaper. But what begins as mere nihilism takes a turn for the unexpected as interested parties come calling with increasingly bizarre requests. What follows is a madcap comedy of errors, involving a jealous husband, a drug-addled heiress, poisoned carrots--even a vampire. For someone who just wants to die, Hanio can't seem to catch a break, as he finds himself caught up in a continent-wide conspiracy that puts him in the cross hairs of both his own government and a powerful organized-crime cartel. Wildly inventive, darkly comedic, and at times deeply surreal, Life For Sale is refreshingly unlike anything else in Yukio Mishima's oeuvre, and an essential work of international literature, finally available in English.

My view coming soon

FAREWELL MY ORANGE by Iwaki Kei

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Europa Editions
Personal Copy

Japanese Literature
Description

Winner of the Kenzaburō Ōe Prize

Two immigrants, Salimah and Sayuri, navigate isolation, a new language, and devastating loss on their way to a lifelong friendship. Far from her native country of Nigeria and now living as a single mother of two, Salimah works the night shift at a supermarket in small-town Australia. She is shy and barely speaks English, but pushes herself to sign up for an ESL class offered at the local university.

At the group’s first meeting, Salimah meets Sayuri, who has come to Australia from Japan with her husband, a resident research associate at the local college. Sayuri has put her own education on hold to take care of her infant daughter and she is plagued by worries about financial instabilities and her general precariousness.

When Sayuri’s daughter dies in daycare and one of Salimah’s boys leaves to live with his father, the two women look to one another for comfort and sustenance, as they slowly master their new language.

Written with great warmth, Farewell, My Orange offers optimism in the face of adversity. In the stories of Salimah and Sayuri, readers will find a touching portrait of our need for others and the certainty of change.

My View
It took me one third of the novel to unravel the names and why they did not readily make sense when applied to the characters in the story. Once I understood where the story was heading it was smooth going.
However it affected the joy of reading this story, hence the three stars.
A hint, this novel deals with a story within a story.

CONFESSIONS by Kanae Minto

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5/5          
Reading for JLC 11

Synopsis

Her pupils killed her daughter. Now, she will have her revenge.

After an engagement that ended in tragedy, all Yuko Moriguchi had to live for was her four-year-old child, Manami. Now, after a heartbreaking accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.

But first, she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that will upend everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge.

Narrated in alternating voices, with twists you’ll never see coming, Confessions probes the limits of punishment, despair, and tragic love, culminating in a harrowing confrontation between teacher and student that will place the occupants of an entire school in harm’s way. You’ll never look at a classroom the same way again.


My view

It took me three days to finish CONFESSIONS. Late evening was out of the question, lest I wanted nightmares...a couple of times I set the novel aside to take a deep breath or try to guess an ending...oh! I wasn't even close.

At 240 pages the novel encompasses a talent reminding me of Hitchcock's best.

Anyone who enjoys psychologically driven crime novels, CONFESSIONS will not disappoint.

Highly recommended