42. The Lake

The Lake, Banana Yoshimoto
Melville House, 188 pages, 2005, translated by Michael Emmerich in 2011

It's probably a function of language or translation or some combination of the two, but all the modern Japanese authors I've read--Haruki Murakami, Yoko Ogawa, Banana Yoshimoto, to some extent even Mishima--share certain qualities of style: extreme care and attention in describing discrete physical objects (a carton of milk in Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, grapefruit jelly in Ogawa's Pregnancy Diary, a wire grilling rack in The Lake), combined with a certain vagueness of feeling, told in a voice characterized by colloquialism and familiarity and a very Japanese measure of ambivalence (lots of "you know" and "well, I" and "that's just the way I feel"). I really love this style and it's probably part of why I can read any of the above authors writing about any damn old thing.


The Lake centers around the relationship between optimistic artist Chihiro and oddball grad student Nakajima. Chihiro is strong and independent, but in facing her mother's death comes to realize that she is still in a way trying to escape the small town she grew up in; she enters a tentative relationship with Nakajima, supporting him through his attempt to overcome childhood trauma. I wouldn't call it a brilliant plot--although Nakajima constantly alludes to a terrible secret that is revealed near the end of the book, nothing ever really happens--but Chihiro's inner world is so rich and detailed that there's always something to come back to, something more to explore and ponder. After this book I'm looking forward to reading more Banana Yoshimoto!

41. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Alfred A. Knopf (Random House) e-book, 183 pages, 2006

And here's another YA book that I decided to read because I liked the movie. Except in this case, unlike Holes, I actually--don't hurt me--thought the movie was better. True, the book didn't involve Michael Cera, but Norah's character was completely different between the two versions. The Norah in the movie was cool, a little insecure, but just enough to be relatable, and down-to-earth; the book Norah was high-strung, foul-mouthed, and (to put it bluntly) extremely annoying.

I also kind of dislike books (A Great and Terrible Beauty, I'm looking at you) where the female characters are all "frenemies" and spend the whole time stealing each others' boyfriends and stabbing each other in the back but at the same time they're supposed to have a meaningful relationship. I mean I guess that is reality for some teenage girls (?) but it just makes no sense to me and I cannot follow it or remember who is supposed to be friends with who and why. Complex relationships are great but these characters just change their feelings about each other seemingly at random, and as much as I hate to say it I liked it better in the movie when Tris was just a "mean girl" persecuting Norah. At least it was consistent.

The best parts of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist were Nick's chapters, written by David Levithan. I've never read any of his work before but he's supposed to be kind of a big deal in the YA world, and I really want to read his new book for adults, The Lover's Dictionary (which, sadly, is unavailable in Japan).

Next up: The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto

39. Holes

Holes, Louis Sachar
Yearling (Random House) e-book, 233 pages, 1998

Holes came highly recommended by Susi, and I'd seen the movie years ago and loved it, so when I saw that it was available as an e-book from the San Francisco Public Library, I jumped on it. (Yes, I also needed a short, easy read to keep up with the book challenge. And by "keep up with" I mean "desperately try to close the yawning gap between the number of books I should have read and the number I've actually read.") Anyway, I'm glad I did because the book was fantastic--tightly plotted, surprising, and full of more poetry and romance and wonder than I would have expected from the author of There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom. (Not, to be fair, that I've ever read it, or any of Sachar's other books, but I'll admit I didn't expect at 24 to enjoy a book by an author that was popular with the boys in my class in the fifth grade. Huh.)

Oh, and as this was my first library e-book checkout, I might as well note that it's extremely strange to me that the library actually links to the Amazon website for checkout, complete with "Customers who bought this item also bought..." links (for purchase, not library checkout). Huh?? Also, when the book is returned, you get an email from Amazon reminding you that if you check the book out again or purchase it for Kindle your notes and highlights will be preserved. I mean, in a sense that's useful information, but it still feels icky for an online commercial giant to be so all over a library book checkout. (That said, it is pretty fucking sweet that I can read San Francisco public library books while living in Japan.)