Sadly I am still struggling my way through The Goddess Test. It isn't bad. The writing is good, I even quite like the characters but there is just so little happening that I am having to make myself sit and read it, rather than with most books where I actually want to read it.
So instead I will share with you a book I read many years ago but still find myself thinking fondly off.
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| Goodybye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto |
Would you believe that I found this book in a bargain bin for just 50p? I was about 15 at the time and I loved the look of the cover so I picked it up and bought it without even bothering to see what it was about. It was this book that caused me to fall in love with Japanese novels and later led to my interest in anime and manga. This book is also tiny at only 186 pages so you can read it easily in a few hours, perfect for train journeys. I need to find more of Banana Yoshimoto's books to read.
From Goodreads:
Banana Yoshimoto's novels of young life in Japan have made her an international sensation. Goodbye Tsugumi is an offbeat story of a deep and complicated friendship between two female cousins that ranks among her best work. Maria is the only daughter of an unmarried woman. She has grown up at the seaside alongside her cousin Tsugumi, a lifelong invalid, charismatic, spoiled, and occasionally cruel. Now Maria's father is finally able to bring Maria and her mother to Tokyo, ushering Maria into a world of university, impending adulthood, and a "normal" family. When Tsugumi invites Maria to spend a last summer by the sea, a restful idyll becomes a time of dramatic growth as Tsugumi finds love and Maria learns the true meaning of home and family. She also has to confront both Tsugumi's inner strength and the real possibility of losing her. Goodbye Tsugumi is a beguiling, resonant novel from one of the world's finest young writers.
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