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BOOK REVIEW

Mieko Kawakami’s latest novel, ‘Sisters in Yellow,’ explores memory, crime and survival

Published

“I used to think I’d never forget her, no matter where I ended up, no matter how many years passed, no matter what happened to me. But once I saw her name in that article on the web, I realized I’d forgotten everything about her — her name, her existence, the time we’d spent together, what we’d done, and of course the fact I’d believed I’d never forget her. Kimiko Yoshikawa. For a second, I wondered if maybe it was somebody with the same name, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the Kimiko I used to know.” — “Sisters in Yellow,” by Mieko Kawakami

“Sisters in Yellow” is a novel written by Mieko Kawakami, a celebrated, contemporary Japanese author and poet. Kawakami is known for her strong critique of the patriarchal structures in Japan. She is also known for her strong feminist perspectives and her “Sisters in Yellow” maintains strong female character developments.

In “Sisters in Yellow,” Kawakami tells the story of a 30-something young woman named Hana. She discovers a news story about a criminal case against 60-year-old Kimiko Oshikawa, accused of keeping a vulnerable young woman locked in her apartment for two years.

Hana lived with Kimiko for a couple of years when she too was young and vulnerable. “Sisters in Yellow” is the story of Hana trying to piece together the time and experience she had while living with Kimiko.

Hana and Kimiko start a bar together called Lemon and financially it does well. Hana works hard to save every yen she earns, but situations always come up where she loses her savings. No matter how hard she tries to build a future, she’s always starting back at ground zero.

She starts working in a crime organization, taking stacks of fake cards the organization uses from stolen data, withdrawing cash from ATMs around Tokyo and passing the cash over to her handler. It’s fast money for Hana, and she accumulates as much savings as possible. As the money builds up, Hana loses sight of her goals and just wants to accumulate more, changing her personality completely.

“I knew none of them felt any sense of danger or urgency about the finances, and I knew there was no quick fix, but were they planning on doing anything?  Everyone was miserable, which made it harder to talk about money, but we still had rent and utilities to pay.  If push came to shove, I could pay from my secret savings, but I couldn’t exactly tell them how I’d gotten that money.”

Overall, there is so much that happens in this story: death, crime and manipulative relationships. This story will make readers reflect on their childhood while trying to find their place in the world, wondering what tomorrow will bring.

Deborah Condit is the owner of Books on the Bosque, 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane, Suite A-2 or at .