A review by paulataua
Manazuru by Hiromi Kawakami

5.0

Kei is obsessed with the disappearance of her husband some 12 years earlier, not clear about whether is he dead or he just left her. She keeps getting drawn back to Manazuru, the place they used to holiday. and also the place that somehow holds the key to the mystery. It’s a weird story that gets weirder as it progresses and she is joined by a mysterious woman who appears and disappears. It’s a story of connection and disconnection, about forgetting and remembering, and about relationships between mothers and daughters, between husbands and lovers. It’s beautifully written and quite haunting. The ending isn’t as ‘satisfying’ as ‘Strange Weather in Tokyo’, but I am giving it five stars in the hope of encouraging others to read her.