false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223675735m/317137.jpg 50159 11 "Blood ties seemed unrelated to how we were living," Sakumi, the young narrator of <I>Amrita</I>, begins portentously. The "we" of the family comprises a strange blend--Sakumi's mother, twice married (widowed <I>and</I> divorced); a telepathic younger brother; a cousin; and her mother's childhood friend. Grief over the tragic death of Mayu, Sakumi's flamboyant younger sister, binds them together. But this family tragedy is not the only obstacle to happiness and wholeness for Sakumi, who loses her memory in a fall. Her troubles lead to awareness, though, as memories gradually return, leading Sakumi to discover her own identity and move towards acceptance of her sister's death. <p> Banana Yoshimoto's first novel, <I>Kitchen</I> (1991), traversed the territory of love and loss. Its fabulous success in Japan and the U.S. had to do with her distinct sensibility, a contemporary voice arising from a tradition-conscious culture. <I>Amrita</I> also ventures through the minefield of familial loss, but with a style less driven by the bizarre interface of tradition and pop culture. 2056 1998 Amrita total:542|5:4|4:7|3:7|2:3|1:1| 542 1934 759 35 4 0 false false Mon Jul 06 03:44:27 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 12:01:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Sat Feb 02 12:41:14 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 02 12:50:06 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Wed Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 09:42:16 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 09:56:06 -0700 2009
One of the pleasant surprises of the book is the section that takes place in Saipan, the capital of t...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Wed Jun 17 16:15:02 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 16:16:02 -0700 2009 1 Amrita by Banana (parents can be so weird) Yoshimoto is the 3rd of her books I've read in the past week or so...the others being Kitchen and Goodbye Tsugumi.

Strange writing, comes from being foreign I imagine (not it being strange writing, but rather the fact that it seems strange to me).
...more...]]> 5 0 false true Sun Dec 16 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun May 04 05:50:21 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 05:51:16 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 22:14:26 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 27 17:51:11 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 true false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 06 05:44:15 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 06 05:44:15 -0800 2008 Kitchen, so when I saw this book was on sale, I couldn't resist.

I probably should have.

People seem to like Banana's books for her writing style -- oddly enough, that's exactly what I dislike about this one [and, now that I think of it, I didn't much like i...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 06:20:13 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 12:11:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Wed Apr 15 21:25:43 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 21:25:43 -0700 2009 ]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 22 23:16:44 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 22 23:18:51 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 30 15:55:09 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 15:57:31 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 18:35:24 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 19:26:33 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 02:18:35 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 02:24:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 true false Mon Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 12:42:58 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 01:45:33 -0700 2008 It is a story of a girl who has hit her head in an accident and can remember very little of who she was before so she has to assemble a new life from small things...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Jul 21 06:16:57 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 06:21:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Apr 15 10:24:16 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 10:24:51 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Mar 08 11:22:25 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 11:22:25 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Tue May 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 06:50:18 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 07:57:55 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sat Jan 05 11:26:37 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 11:34:14 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Sep 11 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Sat Oct 04 23:34:17 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 04 23:35:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=317137