A review by natasha29singh
A Certain Woman by Kenneth Strong, Takeo Arishima

2.0

This book can rival [b:A Dark Night's Passing|1396965|A Dark Night's Passing|Naoya Shiga|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327516803l/1396965._SY75_.jpg|1387136] in terms of the sheer tediousness banal overdescription creates. Both books are well-developed ‘stories’ – but while [b:A Dark Night's Passing|1396965|A Dark Night's Passing|Naoya Shiga|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327516803l/1396965._SY75_.jpg|1387136] feels the need to detail the protagonist’s uninteresting exploits, [b:A Certain Woman|3157304|A Certain Woman|Takeo Arishima|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363120736l/3157304._SX50_.jpg|3189012] zooms in on each emotion our titular heroine feels. Coming to the substance of the story, Yoko is absolutely a woman written by a man – a huge letdown. Her ‘magnetism’ and never-ending petty rivalries with any and all women she encounters are the tired figments of male authors’ imaginations. In general, her selfishness, myopia, and general assholery makes her a deeply unlikable person, and not a ‘modern woman’ as lovers of this book love to pedagogize. Neither can I ignore how the story mounts and ultimately culminates in a karmic ‘comeuppance.’ I could go on, but all I’ll say is that I’m glad this is over. With that said, the writing and translation are extremely good.