Lizard

Yoshimoto's voice in each of the six short stories in this collection provides a wonderful insight into the atomization of modern Japan. There is something of Murakami in each of the stories: the familiarity and the comfort of the mundane, but also the potential for things to change and to be different. Yoshimoto's characters tend to find hope or redemption through the unexpected, which is often quasi-spiritual or magical. Reading the stories can be a little unsettling, simply because of the sense of uncertainty created, but reflecting on them at their conclusion, you realize the genius in Yoshimoto. Each is uniquely crafted and contains a strong moral element. No more (or fewer) words are required. 7.5 out of 10.

By Banana Yoshimoto