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A review by categal
A True Novel by Minae Mizumura
4.0
I got absolutely lost in this story, I mean in the best way. This is a story within a story within a story within .... well, it's complicated. It begins in New York, where the Mizumura family has relocated so that Mr. Mizumura can pursue work opportunities. We see things through young Minae's eyes, and she is NOT happy to be in America. Her father befriends Taro, an immigrant working as a chauffeur for an American business executive, and through the family's contact with Taro, we are drawn deeper and deeper into the story, all the way back to post-war Japan.
What about the title? What the heck is a "true novel"? According to Mizumura, a true novel differs from an "I novel" in that it is pure fiction, and modeled after great 19th century novels like Wuthering Heights. Can a novel be pure fiction if the author has written herself into the story? Her explanation of the title came on toward the end of the prologue, and that stopped me in my tracks. I realized that it had been over (gulp) 30 years since I had read Wuthering Heights, and maybe if I had a better grip on that story, I would follow this one on a deeper level. So off I went and read Wuthering - what a great ride! I returned to this novel, and quickly got lost in the story, completely wrapped up in the Saegusa and Shigemitsu families, Taro, Japan, the countryside, the classes, the history - what a great ride! Not necessary to have read Wuthering Heights - I see what Mizumura did with the plot and how she structured her novel, but it is her own, and just fantastic.
What about the title? What the heck is a "true novel"? According to Mizumura, a true novel differs from an "I novel" in that it is pure fiction, and modeled after great 19th century novels like Wuthering Heights. Can a novel be pure fiction if the author has written herself into the story? Her explanation of the title came on toward the end of the prologue, and that stopped me in my tracks. I realized that it had been over (gulp) 30 years since I had read Wuthering Heights, and maybe if I had a better grip on that story, I would follow this one on a deeper level. So off I went and read Wuthering - what a great ride! I returned to this novel, and quickly got lost in the story, completely wrapped up in the Saegusa and Shigemitsu families, Taro, Japan, the countryside, the classes, the history - what a great ride! Not necessary to have read Wuthering Heights - I see what Mizumura did with the plot and how she structured her novel, but it is her own, and just fantastic.