Goodbye Tsugumi
by Banana Yoshimoto
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 664)
Read in June, 2008
recommended to H by:
Strand's amazing bookshelves
I love Banana Yoshimoto, and not just because she has a great name or because the first picture I saw of her was the best author shot ever (knowing, impish smile; witchy-poo shoes; and on the "backside" of the picture, she was hiding a bouquet of wildflowers in her hands, that you couldn't see from the front. It's on one of the tradepaper editions of Kitchen). I love wheat she writes about: quirky people who are real, but not necessarily likeable and in situations that aren't probable,...more
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I really wasn't impressed by this book. The ideas and themes covered sounded very interesting, and while Yoshimoto's descriptions of scenery are well-written, the characters seemed to lack depth, and didn't really encourage a feeling of sympathy. I've given the benefit of the doubt as the process of translation may subtract from the original. While the descriptions of scenery were well written, and Yoshimoto made some interesting and thought-provoking points, the characters spoilt the book for m...more
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Read in July, 2007
My first Banana Yoshimoto experience!
I got this book via Amazon.com, intrigued by the rave reviews. And it is really cool! Simple story about Maria and her hot headed cousin Tsugumi, who's weak in the body and always has a bad temper. Stories of love, friendship and family. Mellow, but not overly sad. I like how Maria narrates the story about her long distance father, her patient mother, and how she gets close to Tsugumi and the people around her.
What I especially like is the fact that ...more
I got this book via Amazon.com, intrigued by the rave reviews. And it is really cool! Simple story about Maria and her hot headed cousin Tsugumi, who's weak in the body and always has a bad temper. Stories of love, friendship and family. Mellow, but not overly sad. I like how Maria narrates the story about her long distance father, her patient mother, and how she gets close to Tsugumi and the people around her.
What I especially like is the fact that ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone interested in what YA lit looks like in another country
This is a really nice, quick read. It would have been perfect to read while I was at the beach, because it really captures the mood of a coastal town at the end of summer. That's the book's strong suit: capturing a mood and holding it very carefully, reveling in the details that paint a picture for the reader. This book is also what I would consider a really nice young adult novel for girls. Sure, it's set in Japan, but there is a lot of material that anyone could relate to... relationships,...more
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This book was not my style. Very descriptive, but it struck me as being over done and drawn-out rather than poetic. And the actual storyline did nothing for me. I don't even remember how it ended, which, to me, is the sign of a poor book. I don't think Tsugumi died, I just really wanted her to. I thought that was the whole point of the book, slowly saying goodbye to this dying girl, hence the title: Goodbye Tsugumi. But part of me thinks she ended up living, that ornery twit.
So there y...more
So there y...more
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Read in August, 2007
love banana yoshimoto. she gets the voice just right on a just-turning adult recognizing poetry in the world, and the power of emotion, memory, or even small moments like walking along a path towards home...making the narrative both simple and eloquent. there's a welcome lack of pretense. the metaphors aren't overthought. really fun, good, read. (and great for this time of year...much takes place during a "last summer" and the shift of seasons is captured with the immediate nostalgia t...more
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Read in January, 2008
This is indeed a strange book. It goes into the character of Tsugumi through the narrator (her cousin) words, but at the same time tells a lot about "basic" life issues, like the relation of a person to his or her past, to his or her family, about how to deal with emotions. The plot itself does not have much relevance; everything lies in the narrator's reflections. Some of them are enlightened, other, too straightforward or maybe just too stereotyped. However, now I am willing to read ...more
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Read in November, 2007
After reading Kitchen, I was eager to read another work by Yoshimoto. Her writing is so honest and elegant, that I just fell in love with her prose.
This novel was not a disappointment! It had that same simple, honest, elegance in the writing that drew me in to Yoshimoto. The characters were believable, and each of them had a bit of story that made them interesting people--even those who were most mundane.
The story itself is about transitions, which is a theme that really resonat...more
This novel was not a disappointment! It had that same simple, honest, elegance in the writing that drew me in to Yoshimoto. The characters were believable, and each of them had a bit of story that made them interesting people--even those who were most mundane.
The story itself is about transitions, which is a theme that really resonat...more
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recommends it for:
everyone
I spent a great deal of time brooding over this one, since I wrote a paper on it for a literature class. I really enjoyed the descriptions and the little epiphanies that were scattered throughout the book. Tsugumi is a challenging character because it's hard to know whether to love or hate her. The plot is not really the focal point here, but what is important is the relationships between members of this family and what really matters in life.
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Read in September, 2008
recommended to Rebecca by:
Lieslrecommends it for: thoughtful readers
Typically, I prefer books with stronger plots, but this was still an enjoyable read. Yoshimoto's writing is tender and richly descriptive. She skillfully depicts the complexities of Maria's feelings for and interactions with her cousin Tsugumi. Tsugumi is an intense and not necessarily likable character who deeply touches Maria's life and helps shape the woman Maria becomes. I would definitely read another Yoshimoto novel.
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this book has a spirit quality that made me think of murakami, but no murakami ghosts jump out of the alley to toy with you, leaving your brain a twisted and limp wash cloth. goodbye tsugumi is more gentle--sometimes beautiful moments of opening, but sometimes canned moments of sentimentality. also, really terrible dialogue in places. i'm wondering if this is a translation thing.
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I love Tsugumi. I love her when she's making people cry, I love her when she's so sick she can't move and is still spouting the bitter, I love her when she's trying to kill people, I love her when she's pretending to be something she isn't for her own base motives. Tsugumi is fantastic. Plus, the way Yoshimoto writes about growing up and the beach really pulls at you.
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Read in January, 2005
One of Banana Yoshimoto's earlier works. As with all her stuff I enjoyed the simple lucid writing, which is an interesting contrast to the complexity of the characters themselves. I think what I loved most about this book was that it had a very "manga-like" feel to it. I could almost see each page in art panels as I read.
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Read in January, 2002
i like the purple cover with pink japanese character,..
it's a bit depressing and the plot moves a bit slow. but the description of the beach and the family comes alive in time. i just want to bite the pillow and threw my comforter away as i read the tsugumi character. i can't keep track whether i love/hate her!
it's a bit depressing and the plot moves a bit slow. but the description of the beach and the family comes alive in time. i just want to bite the pillow and threw my comforter away as i read the tsugumi character. i can't keep track whether i love/hate her!
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Read in January, 2005
I would take away one star for the translation, but I couldn't. Something entirely delicious and poignant about Tsugumi's character, and each small detail warmed me to it: Gongoro (which I plan to name the male Pomeranian I will have in a few years), the watermelon, Keisuke's flag pillow, night oh the night.
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A Secret Garden meets Proust and has a baby in japan that's left at the doorstep of Nick, narrator of Great Gatsby...but in a good way.
This books satisfyingly evokes a slight sense of melancholy and nostalgia. Seemed as though the translation subtracted from the book's impact but the feelings came across.
This books satisfyingly evokes a slight sense of melancholy and nostalgia. Seemed as though the translation subtracted from the book's impact but the feelings came across.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
I forgot I like Banana Yoshimoto, her writing is so lyrical and sappy. The story was sweet and transported me to the Japanese seaside, but was also about a girl with some kind of congenital defect which I found disturbing. Overall I liked it, it wasn't as depressing as I expected it would be.
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Read in October, 2007
This book really touched me. I know it sounds lame, but for some reason I really felt like I could relate to the characters. They all had a deep sadness inside of them, but learned to cope with it and live their lives. I think I was in a very contemplative mode so it really got to me.
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i haven't really enjoyed the last couple books that banana yoshimoto has put out, especially this one. they seem like watered-down copies of her earlier work, with similar themses and characters, but none of the substance that was there in n.p. or kitchen or even her short stories.
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Brittany by:
Japanese literature class
At first this book seemed really boring, as most Japanese literature does to the average American, but as I kept reading, I started to really like it because of the simplicity of the little details. This book changed the way I feel about Japanese fiction! Good book
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