Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and although it is quite slow, I think the beauty of the tale is the gentle unravelling of the layers and seeing the main character's relationship with her mistress grows against the background of a nation soon headed, and then experiencing, devastating war.

I've not read many stories about WW2 from a Japanese perspective and, even though the narrator is a maid and therefore not really in the thick of things, it was interesting to hear how quickly society changed and what this meant for everyday people.

The narrator isn't necessarily to be trusted, either - and I think that adds another level of interest to this. She's a determined, rather resourceful old woman with a knack for romanticism, and her character is written so well that you can really see her scribbling away her memories or steadfastly cooking for her beloved mistress and master, always on the fringe and yet crucial to their lives.

Definitely a story that will stick with me.

4.5

apoorvasr's review

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4.0

This was a simple, beautiful read by Kyoko Nakajima. The book has been narrated by Taki, who works as a housemaid in the Hirai household in the Showa era. As the book progresses, we get absorbed by the calm, mundane lifestyle of Taki's daily chores.

We see her relationship with the members of the family and her sincerity towards the whole occupation. The author now goes to the future and we see Taki, old reminiscing about her past life and maintains a diary. Living alone in her apartment she is visited by her nephew Takeshi and he constantly mocks her about how none of her diary entries talk about war torn Japan and the interminable tensions around the world.

The author vacillates between the past and the present. We see how Taki tends to the owner's son, helps him in his polio , whips up dishes, entertains guests and is constantly doing everything she can for the well being of the family.
She considers being a maid, as a noble and respectable job. Times change when the artist from the owner's toy factory visits their house. The author creates this imagery that the house is aesthetic, beautiful, has certain charms and is cocooned from the outside world. The whole household feels the same. There are few financial problems but the family always manages to get through.

"I will never forget the scent of the seasonal daphne and osmanthus blossoms in the garden, or how the beautiful red roof was complemented by the dazzling colors of the maple tree and crimson fruited rowanberry beside the front door"

Taki hears from her previous master how a maid is supposed to always do the right thing. An incident narrated from the previous owner , a novelist whose maid burnt the manuscript because she thought it would be ridiculed..

We see how everything builds up to a deafening crescendo. Where seemingly normal life goes up in smoke..

"Only people in his work who are portrayed as sacrosanct and their innocence left intact are the women and bot inside the circle in 'The Little House'."

mariomenti's review

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5.0

Kyoko Nakajima's The Little House (translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori) is wonderful. Similar to what she does in many of her short stories, she leaves the really impactful bits right to the end.

Most of the book is set between 1930 and the war and told by Taki, a housemaid in Tokyo, until the very last chapter, which is set in the near present and took my breath away - it somehow amplifies the story, and takes it way beyond everything you've read up to that point.