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The Favorites: A Novel
From an award-winning author whose debut story collection received unprecedented praise, comes an elegant novel about mothers and daughters, secrets and silences, and familial bonds in a culture where custom dictates behavior.
In her exquisite first novel, Mary Yukari Waters explores the complex relationships among three generations of women bound by a painful family histo
...moreHardcover, 288 pages
Published
June 2nd 2009
by Scribner
(first published May 14th 2009)
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Like a soft whisper, Mary Yukari Waters' writing is quietly powerful. Her book, The Favorites, is simply wonderful. She perfectly captures the subtle nuances of a relationship between a mother and her daughter, and the 3 generations of women this story is about...
The Favorites is narrated through the voice of 14-year-old Sarah as she returns to Kyoto to visit her mother's family. Her innocent observations guide the story, as she learns about the beauty of Japan, the streets & surroundi...more
The Favorites is narrated through the voice of 14-year-old Sarah as she returns to Kyoto to visit her mother's family. Her innocent observations guide the story, as she learns about the beauty of Japan, the streets & surroundi...more
“Favorites” is a novel of relationships; mainly of mothers and daughters but also of sisters and cousins and aunts. Three generations of women have their relationships with each other bound by a secret that they all know, but must not talk about: One woman, widowed with one child already and another on the way in war-torn Japan, gave up her baby daughter to her sister-in-law. The two families live side by side, observing strict rules of behavior towards each other.
The first part of ...more
The first part of ...more
يوكو تنحدر من عائلة كاشيمارو اليابانية
تتزوج بأمريكي وتنتقل للعيش في كاليفورنيا
إلا أنها تعود من فترة إلى أخرى إلى موطنها الأم
وترافقها ابنتها النصف أجنبية، سارة
هل سبق وتسائلت عن الشعور الذي تخبئه الملامح الآسيوية المتشابهة بشكل مخيف؟
لأي مدى تؤثر علينا الصدمات الثقافية والحضارية
بعد العيش لفترة طويلة خارج الوطن؟
كيف تستطيع " الابنة" أن تنادي غريبة ب أمي
وكيف تستطيع "الأم" مقاومة لمس ابنة أنجبتها
ثلاثة أجيال، وس...more
The Favorites is full of vivid imagery and lots of beautiful descriptions. I felt a very strong sense of place in this one--the food, traditions, and people of Japan are painted in intense detail. The following passage is reflective of the book's overall poetic, reflective tone:
Years later Sarah would remember this afternoon for its intensity of color: the gleaming lacquer of the beetle against the bark, the hills rising all around them in a crescendo of green. ... When she grew ol...more
Years later Sarah would remember this afternoon for its intensity of color: the gleaming lacquer of the beetle against the bark, the hills rising all around them in a crescendo of green. ... When she grew ol...more
A rare gem of a first novel, this book beautifully evokes the sights, smells, sounds, depth of color, and culture of Japan.
Sarah, born to a Japanese mother and an American father, returns to Japan after living in the U.S. for several years (author Mary Yukari Waters has a similar life story). While there, she discovers layer after layer of secrets under the surface of family ritual and civility. Although she viewed her mother Yoko as clumsy and out of place as a non-native English sp...more
Sarah, born to a Japanese mother and an American father, returns to Japan after living in the U.S. for several years (author Mary Yukari Waters has a similar life story). While there, she discovers layer after layer of secrets under the surface of family ritual and civility. Although she viewed her mother Yoko as clumsy and out of place as a non-native English sp...more
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Not the type of book I would normally read. A very powerful and moving book about three generations of Japanese and Japanese-American women. Four snapshots in time capture them interacting in Kyoto, Japan. The writer is a master of vivid imagery of time and place. I found myself reflecting on childhood memories of similar incidents as I came into contact with the adult world. A great book for a mother daughter storytime. This book can be a little exasperating to a Westerner with its indirectness...more
Deliciously delightful throughout. Yes, the story meanders a bit, and it might feel like not much happens overall. But the journey is what makes this book.
The details of the scenery and surroundings are simple, but they slow you down and make you want to savor the images created in your mind. I wanted to pause after a section or chapter, just to let it sit in my mind before moving to something new.
It is definitely a book about culture, but also about relationships, mainly ...more
The details of the scenery and surroundings are simple, but they slow you down and make you want to savor the images created in your mind. I wanted to pause after a section or chapter, just to let it sit in my mind before moving to something new.
It is definitely a book about culture, but also about relationships, mainly ...more
The Favorites is the story of 14-year old Sarah, half-Japanese, half-American, who travels with her mother to stay with her grandmother in Kyoto. The family lives next door to Sarah's great-aunt, aunt, and cousins, but Sarah quickly discovers that family relationships in Japan don't always come with the same rules and expectations as those in America. As Sarah learns to maneuver the traditional ways, and better understand the secondary meaning of passing looks and comments, she also comes to bet...more
Lovely writing by an author who is l/2 Japanese and l/2 American. She has spent her early years in Japan. The reader first meets Sarah, an American girl who spent her first 5 years living in Japan. She returns with her mother at age 14 to find three generations of a family with deep secrets. Life in present as well as post war Japan is revealed in beautiful prose. One comes away from the novel with a deeper understanding of Japanese customs and history.
I loved this book! It was set in Kyoto, Japan and was about a Japanese woman who married an American man. They had a daughter. The book focuses on the relationships of the grandmother, mother, daugher, and Japanese family members in Kyoto. I read it in one day--I couldn't put it down!
I picked this up not expecting much, but found beauty in the profound sense of loneliness and sadness. It was a very interesting (and truthful) look into the culture of uchi and soto, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Waters' writing is clear and precise and I definitely want to read her short stories now.
This is a poignant story of three generations of Japanese women and their relationships. Wonderfully written and a nice change from the geisha and foot binding stories of Japanese women.
THE FAVORITES is a very nicely constructed novel examining Japanese women's relationships, particular the motions in and out of certain social/familial circles. This story depends less on plot than on slow and subtle character transformation, and although there is an easily identifiable protagonist, she disappears for almost an entire section of the book. And yet this novel is filled with lovely moments, and if the story's basic arc is not immediately evident, the final two chapters do bring t...more
Very interesting insight into Kyoto family lives in '70s told from the perspective of a Japanese/American girl. Author admits it is largely autobiographical. VEry well written.
I loved this story. There is a fantastic scene where the little girls play a game called "American Emotions".
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written and I enjoy getting a peek into other cultures.
Cute little story about a Japanese-American's relationship with the Japanese women in her family.
So many secrets exist in this novel among the women in an extended family in Japan. Customs and politeness reveal a culture that isn't what it seems. Waters knows how to weave together a sad tale.
Beautifully written story of Japanese culture, family structure, formality, and love.
This book is delicate masterpiece. I am honestly in love with this book!
Very nice family story in traditional Japan, full of emotions.
Recommended by Maura Stanton.
I waited anxiously for this to show up at the local library because her short stories are amazing. This novel did have some of the kind of insights that make the stories memorable and some lovely passages (hydrangeas and rain). However, many of the insights were delivered in an overly didactic way. Even if these were targeted for a young adult reader it seemed oversimplified, a bit heavy-handed.
I was really looking forward to reading this one and was a little disappointed. The first part of the book was really slow moving for me and I debated whether I should continue reading. It picked up after that and I did enjoy the rest of it. As a person who is quite knowledgeable about Japan, I felt that the Japanese elements of the story were a bit 'dumb-ed' down for an American audience.
I brought this home from the library thinking, I'm going to love this. But. it. was. just. so. slow.
beautiful and slow...made me want to go to Japan.
Iva
marked it as to-read
Dana
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Shannon
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