Published By: Bonnier
Pages:
Released On: 13/03/2025
Translator: Cathy Hirano
The fragrance of a single stem in a vase.
The shimmering reflection of fireworks in a lake.
The quiet of a bookshop as evening falls.
The feeling of opening a brand-new diary and beginning to write .
Moments of beauty endure. But what happens when you begin to forget?
Yuriko leads a quiet, orderly life as a piano teacher. It’s New Year’s Eve and her grown-up son Izumi comes to visit. Yuriko makes him his favourite meal: omelette and hayashi rice. Together, they look like a normal family.
But Yuriko has a secret. Many years earlier, when Izumi was a boy, Yuriko suddenly disappeared for an entire year. She returned, but the lost year was never discussed.
Now as Yuriko begins to lose her memory, Izumi is forced to race against time as he seeks the truth behind this long-buried mystery. Will he learn to understand the woman his mother once was, before it is too late? And is he ready to become a father himself?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
Oh how I wanted to love this.
I generally love Japanese fiction. They’re all so warm and cosy and heartwarming, but they do all seem to have a sense of tragedy or longing in them, which makes them more than just an entertaining story. They make you think and make you feel.
We assume that Yuriko has dementia, or certainly some severe memory problems.
It can be difficult to get the same meaning from the original language into the translated one. Now, having not read the original Japanese version, I can’t say it’s 100% accurate, but it feels right. It is hard to explain something like dementia if you haven’t experienced it. To be honest, it’s hard to explain it even if you have experienced it, but Genki and Cathy have managed that well. It’s not overly gratuitous or morbid, it’s sensitive but they haven’t hidden from the annoyance and anger and short fuse that comes with it. You know they don’t mean it. They don’t know they’ve aske the same question five times, but we do, and we snap at them and then feel bad.
But the characters were a bit of a let down. Perfectly fine, but lacklustre and I didn’t find myself gelling with any of them. They weren’t bad, in fact I’d have preferred if they were bad, but they’re just quite flat. Yuriko is probably my favourite and that’s because I had a soft spot for her; she’s struggling but she’s not always sure why.
I really thought I’d have more of an emotional connection to it. I have experienced dementia in my family and it’s horrible. And whilst I did feel involved at times, it was a bit harsh and so pushed me away a lot. I didn’t think Izumi handled his mother’s situation well, pushing her away and in turn pushing me away.
The pacing is a little off too. We spend too much time describing Izumi’s office, and too little time focussing on what I thought were the important bits – family and memories.
It’s not a bad book, but not a great book. It’s interesting to spend a few hours with, but it wouldn’t be one that will stick with me. It’s too long, clunky passages, and flat characters, but I admit I did think the description of how dementia can affect you and the wider family was well handled in general.
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