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Die Frau im lila Rock
Der preisgekrönte Roman einer der spannendsten jungen Autorinnen Japans. – »Sie werden besessen sein.« Leila Slimani
Die Frau im lila Rock scheint in ihrer eigenen Welt zu leben und bewegt sich traumwandlerisch durch überfüllte Straßen, ohne von ihrer Umwelt Notiz zu nehmen. Sie ist eine alleinstehende Frau. Sie lebt in einer kleinen, heruntergekommenen Wohnung und ist knapp bei Kasse. Sie sitzt jeden Nachmittag auf derselben Parkbank. Sie kauft jeden Tag ein Sahnetörtchen, das sie im Park verzehrt. Aber sie wird beobachtet. Die Frau in der gelben Strickjacke ist unbemerkt immer dort, wo die Frau im lila Rock sich aufhält. Doch sie ist keine Stalkerin – es ist viel komplizierter! Eine düster-komische Geschichte über zwei Leben, die auf unheimliche Weise miteinander verflochten sind.
Die Frau im lila Rock scheint in ihrer eigenen Welt zu leben und bewegt sich traumwandlerisch durch überfüllte Straßen, ohne von ihrer Umwelt Notiz zu nehmen. Sie ist eine alleinstehende Frau. Sie lebt in einer kleinen, heruntergekommenen Wohnung und ist knapp bei Kasse. Sie sitzt jeden Nachmittag auf derselben Parkbank. Sie kauft jeden Tag ein Sahnetörtchen, das sie im Park verzehrt. Aber sie wird beobachtet. Die Frau in der gelben Strickjacke ist unbemerkt immer dort, wo die Frau im lila Rock sich aufhält. Doch sie ist keine Stalkerin – es ist viel komplizierter! Eine düster-komische Geschichte über zwei Leben, die auf unheimliche Weise miteinander verflochten sind.
129 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2019
476 people are currently reading
31891 people want to read
About the author
Natsuko Imamura
8 books244 followersSee: 今村 夏子
Natsuko Imamura is a Japanese writer. She has been nominated three times for the Akutagawa Prize, and won the prize in 2019. She has also won the Dazai Osamu Prize, the Mishima Yukio Prize, the Kawai Hayao Story Prize, and the Noma Literary New Face Prize.
Natsuko Imamura is a Japanese writer. She has been nominated three times for the Akutagawa Prize, and won the prize in 2019. She has also won the Dazai Osamu Prize, the Mishima Yukio Prize, the Kawai Hayao Story Prize, and the Noma Literary New Face Prize.
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June 20, 2021
Reading this book happened in concurrence with first listening to a new song by an artist I’ve really loved in the past, and I can’t help see how my impressions on them both have helped me process my feelings on them. Winner of the Akutagawa Prize, The Woman in the Purple Skirt is the English language debut by Natsuku Imamura and lovingly translated by Lucy North is a slow turning of the screws on tension about voyeurism and manipulation. As I began this book, Lorde released a new single that also has a slow creepy build to it, but when the moment comes to unleash at the end, there’s no punch. Like this novel, you listen along wondering where it will go and tell yourself “I’m into this because it has potential” despite not actually being all that into it but where the song underwhelmed, this book achieved with a turn-up-the-bass and hold on tight finale. Neither are bad and while neither are all that particularly fresh or interesting despite being quite well crafted, but still Imamura grips you and pulls you forward towards a satisfying conclusion. This brief and ravenously addicting novel pulls off a quirky “creepy but make it cute” vibe in this dark tale of obsession, workplace politics and the social structures that can destroy a person at whim through rumor and innuendo that will leave you chilled.
It’s the deadpan narration that really gets me in The Woman in the Purple Skirt. The book features a narrator like someone who has saddled up next to you at a bar and they are off-putting enough that you’re hoping they’ll leave yet somehow their story is so engaging you can’t quite cash out and leave like you know you should. The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, as she introduces herself, has a seemingly innocent fascination with the Woman in the Purple Skirt that reveals itself to be an uneasy obsession. She keeps a journal of her comings and goings, worklogs, and follows her everywhere she goes. ‘I think what I’m trying to say, she tells us, ‘is that I’ve been wanting to become friends with the Woman in the Purple Skirt for a very long time.’ The voyeuristic nature of the narrator, and all the clever ways Imamura finds to place the narrator in each scene to observe, pokes at the perspective of a reader in any 3rd person perspective novel. Are we, the readers, voyeurs into characters' lives, intruding upon them, taking notes on them in our minds and projecting our hopes and flaws into them?
This seems innocently creepy at first, but the narrator quickly crosses from watching to subtle interactions and manipulations, such as leaving her job notices at her own workplace and leaving shampoo at her door to help freshen up for the interview. The Woman in the Purple Skirt is built up to a near local-celebrity status through the descriptions of her, complete with an uncanny agility to move through a crowd without ever being bumped.
It should be remembered, however, that these impressions are only delivered through the mind of her obsessive observer and may be inflated to serve her vague fantasy. For while we learn the Woman in the Purple Skirt is a lonesome, unemployed person, we realize that so is the narrator. Both seem to be outsiders, the narrator with her debts and Purple Skirt who is even the target of local children’s taunting games. Yellow Cardigan’s aims to improve Woman in the Purple Skirt may be a psychological deflection from her own inability to better herself.
Most successful in the novel is the way that it employs a workplace hierarchy as a metaphor for society and all the gatekeeping therein. At the hotel both women work at, Purple Skirt (who we learn is named Mayuko Hiro, the name Mayuko from 真 (ma) for "real, genuine" with 悠 (yu) meaning "leisurely" and 子 (ko) meaning "child") excels for her athletic ability and having quickly been liked by management staff. ‘She had fully mastered how one is supposed to behave at work,’ the narrator writes, as if to show that work persona is merely a facade over the real person within. Her quick rise from outsider to special privileged insider finds her full of self-confidence expressed through a more refined and ornate outward appearance and attitude but also a target for those who wish to see social climbers fall. There is a definite class aspect to the staff, with the management being the only ones you learn their names and the general staff speaking and acting as an amalgam of faceless/nameless wage laborers. With her rise comes the threat of a fall, and dislike turns to rumors that take on a life and teeth of their own. Soon we see how much outward appearance, such as persona and public opinion, override the person within and the once empathetic Woman in the Purple Skirt appears unpleasant.
If anything, the Woman in the Purple Skirt is being taken advantage of for her abilities. As someone familiar with low-pay jobs like retail or food service, often being competent at your job leads you not to success but more responsibilities and difficult duties for very little extra compensation. The worker is often manipulated into being used more, and Purple Skirt is manipulated into far more than just work duties at the hands of the married Director. The story is a slow motion train wreck, and when the wheels come off they really fly. While the more or less inevitable happens, the descent and nervous conclusion scenes soar from the creeping melodies of the novel into a satisfying ending. There is a psychological build-up that feels at home alongside Hitchcock films or the works of Patricia Highsmith.
While there isn’t much going on here, what does happen is done so successfully. It is a short but tight little thriller heady enough to really charm. It takes the mundane but sets it to the piercing soundtrack of old slasher films. Something I greatly appreciate is that Imamura gives the reader everything they need to know right from the start, but then never connects the dots to what occurs later, trusting the reader to make the connections the characters can’t place. It is a trust between author and reader I enjoy. There will be a lot of comparisons between this and Convenience Store Woman, which I can see due to workplace culture themes but also feel is a bit of a stretch, and while I feel Murata may have been a bit more successful with her book this is still a wonderful read. This is a quick ride, but well worth it as the eeriness of a very nuanced obsession takes an otherwise run-of-the-mill narrative and makes it shine while examining the voyeuristic nature of fiction.
3.5/5
It’s the deadpan narration that really gets me in The Woman in the Purple Skirt. The book features a narrator like someone who has saddled up next to you at a bar and they are off-putting enough that you’re hoping they’ll leave yet somehow their story is so engaging you can’t quite cash out and leave like you know you should. The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, as she introduces herself, has a seemingly innocent fascination with the Woman in the Purple Skirt that reveals itself to be an uneasy obsession. She keeps a journal of her comings and goings, worklogs, and follows her everywhere she goes. ‘I think what I’m trying to say, she tells us, ‘is that I’ve been wanting to become friends with the Woman in the Purple Skirt for a very long time.’ The voyeuristic nature of the narrator, and all the clever ways Imamura finds to place the narrator in each scene to observe, pokes at the perspective of a reader in any 3rd person perspective novel. Are we, the readers, voyeurs into characters' lives, intruding upon them, taking notes on them in our minds and projecting our hopes and flaws into them?
This seems innocently creepy at first, but the narrator quickly crosses from watching to subtle interactions and manipulations, such as leaving her job notices at her own workplace and leaving shampoo at her door to help freshen up for the interview. The Woman in the Purple Skirt is built up to a near local-celebrity status through the descriptions of her, complete with an uncanny agility to move through a crowd without ever being bumped.
’Some people would pretend they hadn’t seen her, and carry on as before. Others would quickly move aside, to give her room to pass. Some would pump their fists and look happy and hopeful. Others would do the opposite and look fearful and downcast. (It’s one of the rules that two sightings in a single day means good luck, while three means bad luck.)’
It should be remembered, however, that these impressions are only delivered through the mind of her obsessive observer and may be inflated to serve her vague fantasy. For while we learn the Woman in the Purple Skirt is a lonesome, unemployed person, we realize that so is the narrator. Both seem to be outsiders, the narrator with her debts and Purple Skirt who is even the target of local children’s taunting games. Yellow Cardigan’s aims to improve Woman in the Purple Skirt may be a psychological deflection from her own inability to better herself.
Most successful in the novel is the way that it employs a workplace hierarchy as a metaphor for society and all the gatekeeping therein. At the hotel both women work at, Purple Skirt (who we learn is named Mayuko Hiro, the name Mayuko from 真 (ma) for "real, genuine" with 悠 (yu) meaning "leisurely" and 子 (ko) meaning "child") excels for her athletic ability and having quickly been liked by management staff. ‘She had fully mastered how one is supposed to behave at work,’ the narrator writes, as if to show that work persona is merely a facade over the real person within. Her quick rise from outsider to special privileged insider finds her full of self-confidence expressed through a more refined and ornate outward appearance and attitude but also a target for those who wish to see social climbers fall. There is a definite class aspect to the staff, with the management being the only ones you learn their names and the general staff speaking and acting as an amalgam of faceless/nameless wage laborers. With her rise comes the threat of a fall, and dislike turns to rumors that take on a life and teeth of their own. Soon we see how much outward appearance, such as persona and public opinion, override the person within and the once empathetic Woman in the Purple Skirt appears unpleasant.
If anything, the Woman in the Purple Skirt is being taken advantage of for her abilities. As someone familiar with low-pay jobs like retail or food service, often being competent at your job leads you not to success but more responsibilities and difficult duties for very little extra compensation. The worker is often manipulated into being used more, and Purple Skirt is manipulated into far more than just work duties at the hands of the married Director. The story is a slow motion train wreck, and when the wheels come off they really fly. While the more or less inevitable happens, the descent and nervous conclusion scenes soar from the creeping melodies of the novel into a satisfying ending. There is a psychological build-up that feels at home alongside Hitchcock films or the works of Patricia Highsmith.
While there isn’t much going on here, what does happen is done so successfully. It is a short but tight little thriller heady enough to really charm. It takes the mundane but sets it to the piercing soundtrack of old slasher films. Something I greatly appreciate is that Imamura gives the reader everything they need to know right from the start, but then never connects the dots to what occurs later, trusting the reader to make the connections the characters can’t place. It is a trust between author and reader I enjoy. There will be a lot of comparisons between this and Convenience Store Woman, which I can see due to workplace culture themes but also feel is a bit of a stretch, and while I feel Murata may have been a bit more successful with her book this is still a wonderful read. This is a quick ride, but well worth it as the eeriness of a very nuanced obsession takes an otherwise run-of-the-mill narrative and makes it shine while examining the voyeuristic nature of fiction.
3.5/5
December 2, 2025
“As I watch her” …
The Japanese author Natsuko Imamura, spins a suspenseful psychological thriller with crisp prose and a peculiar protagonist.
Her inventive storyline piqued my curiosity, led me into a sticky web of envy then crescendoed to an unexpected finale.
The ordinary is wrapped by obsession ~
Preoccupation triggers a pursuit ~
Contemporary themes of identity, vulnerability, hierarchy and societal expectations for women in Japan are explored through the lens of a narrator desperate to emerge from her blurred reality, becoming visible to The Woman in the Purple Skirt.
This novella will satisfy thriller lovers and intrigue those wanting to explore Japanese fiction.
I enjoyed the peculiarity of it all🤩
The Japanese author Natsuko Imamura, spins a suspenseful psychological thriller with crisp prose and a peculiar protagonist.
Her inventive storyline piqued my curiosity, led me into a sticky web of envy then crescendoed to an unexpected finale.
The ordinary is wrapped by obsession ~
Preoccupation triggers a pursuit ~
Contemporary themes of identity, vulnerability, hierarchy and societal expectations for women in Japan are explored through the lens of a narrator desperate to emerge from her blurred reality, becoming visible to The Woman in the Purple Skirt.
This novella will satisfy thriller lovers and intrigue those wanting to explore Japanese fiction.
I enjoyed the peculiarity of it all🤩
Read
March 14, 2022I can't remember the last time I read a book from beginning to end and had nothing at all to say about it. I thought about leaving no review, because how to describe this entirely blank void of a feeling the novel left me with? What is there to say about a blank void anyway? But maybe the feeling itself is worth mentioning. I didn't hate this book. It isn't provoking me to write a vituperative one-star rant by any means. I can't really call it middling-good, either. It was just a nothing. Or maybe I could mention this effect it had on me, at least: reading it made the clock move forward about 1¾ hours.
That's it.
That's it.
June 12, 2021
At one point my wife saw me reading this book, thought the cover looked interesting (which I have to agree that I do kind of love the cover). Seeing I was halfway through, she asked me what it was about.
This was pretty much my response:
This is a weird one. The book follows our narrator who calls herself The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan who stalks another who she calls The Woman in the Purple Skirt. She keeps track of her night and day. She follows her life. She makes notes of her habits. She always watches, wanting to interact, but can't ever find the right time. It's not presented as a romantic stalker, or a horrific murder plan… she simply watches.
It's not a horror novel, it's not a comedy… if anything this comes off as a slice of life novel, just giving us a few weeks time observing The Woman in the Purple Skirt. While the story is certainly about obsession, I can't even call it a character study on the stalker as our narrator does her best not to give us details about herself (we only learn her name, her financial status and a few other details… some of which she doesn't even outright say). It's one of those books where once I finished I questioned who at a major publisher like Penguin greenlit not only a translation of this, but also a hardcover release. Don't get me wrong, it's far from a bad book, but it's one of those books that just doesn't have a clear audience and even someone like me who has a love of Japanese literature and is pretty much guaranteed to blind buy it (which I did) is perplexed after finishing it.
It's pretty well written and short (only 216 pages, and it's fairly small in terms of height size as well), so it's not a book that will take up much of your time, but it's a hard one to recommend. It's pretty well done, and I certainly do not regret my time with it, but it's not something I can't really suggest to anyone outside of Japanese literature fans who want to read something both mundane and extremely different. 3/5 stars
This was pretty much my response:
This is a weird one. The book follows our narrator who calls herself The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan who stalks another who she calls The Woman in the Purple Skirt. She keeps track of her night and day. She follows her life. She makes notes of her habits. She always watches, wanting to interact, but can't ever find the right time. It's not presented as a romantic stalker, or a horrific murder plan… she simply watches.
It's not a horror novel, it's not a comedy… if anything this comes off as a slice of life novel, just giving us a few weeks time observing The Woman in the Purple Skirt. While the story is certainly about obsession, I can't even call it a character study on the stalker as our narrator does her best not to give us details about herself (we only learn her name, her financial status and a few other details… some of which she doesn't even outright say). It's one of those books where once I finished I questioned who at a major publisher like Penguin greenlit not only a translation of this, but also a hardcover release. Don't get me wrong, it's far from a bad book, but it's one of those books that just doesn't have a clear audience and even someone like me who has a love of Japanese literature and is pretty much guaranteed to blind buy it (which I did) is perplexed after finishing it.
It's pretty well written and short (only 216 pages, and it's fairly small in terms of height size as well), so it's not a book that will take up much of your time, but it's a hard one to recommend. It's pretty well done, and I certainly do not regret my time with it, but it's not something I can't really suggest to anyone outside of Japanese literature fans who want to read something both mundane and extremely different. 3/5 stars
May 2, 2022
I only read this one coz 1) it's short and 2) it's ASIAN. I had zero expectations from this book coz of that avg rating. But I still ended up enjoying it. It was absurd and different but that's what makes it interesting.
Only 30 pages in and I felt like dnf it coz of all that stalking stuff but then I read the synopsis and came to know that that's what this book is about "obsession" so I thought let's complete it.
It had a quirky sense of dark humor which excites me a lot because I guess I am bored with my life as well and you can find me noticing you from a corner. Just kidding
Only 30 pages in and I felt like dnf it coz of all that stalking stuff but then I read the synopsis and came to know that that's what this book is about "obsession" so I thought let's complete it.
It had a quirky sense of dark humor which excites me a lot because I guess I am bored with my life as well and you can find me noticing you from a corner. Just kidding
July 2, 2023
Chyba nie czaje, ale buja
July 20, 2022
life is weird.
people are strange.
happiness looks different for everyone.
but this still was boring and annoying to read.
and that's all i have to say about it.
bottom line: not every opinion can be unpopular!
------------
currently-reading updates
a short book with a low rating just...appeals to me
------------
reading books by asian authors for aapi month!
book 1: kim jiyoung, born 1982
book 2: siren queen
book 3: the heart principle
book 4: n.p.
book 5: the hole
book 6: set on you
book 7: disorientation
book 8: parade
book 9: if i had your face
book 10: joan is okay
book 11: strange weather in tokyo
book 12: sarong party girls
book 13: the wind-up bird chronicle
book 14: portrait of a thief
book 15: sophie go's lonely hearts club
book 16: chemistry
book 17: heaven
book 18: the atlas six
book 19: the remains of the day
book 20: is everyone hanging out without me? and other concerns
book 21: why not me?
book 22: when the tiger came down the mountain
book 23: the lies we tell
book 24: to paradise
book 25: pachinko
book 26: you are eating an orange. you are naked.
book 27: cursed bunny
book 28: almond
book 29: a tiny upward shove
book 30: ms ice sandwich
book 31: the woman in the library
book 32: nothing like i imagined
book 33: night sky with exit wounds
book 34: all the lovers in the night
book 35: the white book
book 36: the woman in the purple skirt
people are strange.
happiness looks different for everyone.
but this still was boring and annoying to read.
and that's all i have to say about it.
bottom line: not every opinion can be unpopular!
------------
currently-reading updates
a short book with a low rating just...appeals to me
------------
reading books by asian authors for aapi month!
book 1: kim jiyoung, born 1982
book 2: siren queen
book 3: the heart principle
book 4: n.p.
book 5: the hole
book 6: set on you
book 7: disorientation
book 8: parade
book 9: if i had your face
book 10: joan is okay
book 11: strange weather in tokyo
book 12: sarong party girls
book 13: the wind-up bird chronicle
book 14: portrait of a thief
book 15: sophie go's lonely hearts club
book 16: chemistry
book 17: heaven
book 18: the atlas six
book 19: the remains of the day
book 20: is everyone hanging out without me? and other concerns
book 21: why not me?
book 22: when the tiger came down the mountain
book 23: the lies we tell
book 24: to paradise
book 25: pachinko
book 26: you are eating an orange. you are naked.
book 27: cursed bunny
book 28: almond
book 29: a tiny upward shove
book 30: ms ice sandwich
book 31: the woman in the library
book 32: nothing like i imagined
book 33: night sky with exit wounds
book 34: all the lovers in the night
book 35: the white book
book 36: the woman in the purple skirt
July 29, 2021
How to describe this chilling little number? Hmmm.... Think: Ottessa Moshfegh meets Patricia Highsmith in Japan, and they have an amorous liaison along with Zoe Heller. Their love child (don't worry about logistics, I know all three "parents" are women, and one of them is dead, just go with it) grows up and writes this book.
Oh, it's a tasty little treat. A candy, with a sour bite. Yum. Short and compact, this novel is written in simple, understated prose which stretches in a taut line from beginning to end.
Our narrator, "The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan", has turned stalking into a full time job. She surreptitiously observes "The Woman in the Purple Skirt", notes her activities and makes elaborate plans, dreaming of the day that they will finally speak. Cardigan goes so far as to orchestrate a job opportunity for Skirt so they can work at the same hotel.
After you are easily drawn in, fascinated by the fascination - because it IS truly fascinating that Ms. Cardigan is so taken by Ms. Skirt, who doesn't appear to have anything of note going on in her life, or much in the way of characteristics that would inspire such devotion - a funny thing happens. You become complicit. You become the voyeur of the voyeur. Watching the watcher.
So, yes. You're watching the watcher - or, at least, waiting for a glimpse of the watcher, because our narrator's true identity is hidden until the climactic scene in which all the crazy is finally revealed.
Imamura has written an easily consumed, but very clever (not to mention award winning) story about obsession and identity. I think of it as a much edgier sibling to Convenience Store Woman. One that similarly explores loneliness and menial work, but in covert fashion, through a pair of binoculars.
Oh, it's a tasty little treat. A candy, with a sour bite. Yum. Short and compact, this novel is written in simple, understated prose which stretches in a taut line from beginning to end.
Our narrator, "The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan", has turned stalking into a full time job. She surreptitiously observes "The Woman in the Purple Skirt", notes her activities and makes elaborate plans, dreaming of the day that they will finally speak. Cardigan goes so far as to orchestrate a job opportunity for Skirt so they can work at the same hotel.
After you are easily drawn in, fascinated by the fascination - because it IS truly fascinating that Ms. Cardigan is so taken by Ms. Skirt, who doesn't appear to have anything of note going on in her life, or much in the way of characteristics that would inspire such devotion - a funny thing happens. You become complicit. You become the voyeur of the voyeur. Watching the watcher.
So, yes. You're watching the watcher - or, at least, waiting for a glimpse of the watcher, because our narrator's true identity is hidden until the climactic scene in which all the crazy is finally revealed.
Imamura has written an easily consumed, but very clever (not to mention award winning) story about obsession and identity. I think of it as a much edgier sibling to Convenience Store Woman. One that similarly explores loneliness and menial work, but in covert fashion, through a pair of binoculars.
October 16, 2021
The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura is, on the surface of it, a simple story about a woman being stalked. The Woman in the Purple Skirt is followed by a Woman in a Yellow Cardigan who seems to stay just out of view as the victim goes about her daily routine.
This routine includes such mundane activities as working as a hotel cleaner, catching the bus, eating cream buns and sitting on a park bench. The writer’s style here is very straight forward, she seems to strip the narrative back to the essential bare bones. This style makes this a very engaging, even enthralling read. I really couldn’t wait to find out what the Woman in the Purple Skirt was up to next.
I felt like I was stalking by proxy.
However, there are other themes here - particularly loneliness, but also bullying, the power of gossip and infatuation.
Anyhow – there is more to this story than meets the eye. The lives of these two women comes to an interesting crescendo, and there are also other actors who play significant parts, such as a number of Hotel Cleaning Supervisors, the Director and the Hotel Manager. The fascinating conclusion was unexpected and made this story totally worthwhile. Oh, by the way, there’s also some comedic moments bordering on absurdity – we can all do with a dose of that.
An enjoyable read by an author with a unique style of writing. This won’t be my last foray into Japanese literature.
4-Stars
This routine includes such mundane activities as working as a hotel cleaner, catching the bus, eating cream buns and sitting on a park bench. The writer’s style here is very straight forward, she seems to strip the narrative back to the essential bare bones. This style makes this a very engaging, even enthralling read. I really couldn’t wait to find out what the Woman in the Purple Skirt was up to next.
I felt like I was stalking by proxy.
However, there are other themes here - particularly loneliness, but also bullying, the power of gossip and infatuation.
Anyhow – there is more to this story than meets the eye. The lives of these two women comes to an interesting crescendo, and there are also other actors who play significant parts, such as a number of Hotel Cleaning Supervisors, the Director and the Hotel Manager. The fascinating conclusion was unexpected and made this story totally worthwhile. Oh, by the way, there’s also some comedic moments bordering on absurdity – we can all do with a dose of that.
An enjoyable read by an author with a unique style of writing. This won’t be my last foray into Japanese literature.
4-Stars
September 22, 2022
A breeze of a read about obsession, menial labour and women being invisible or only getting ahead through relations with men
The edition of The Woman in the Purple Skirt I read has a faceless woman with a mirror in her hand as cover, and this is an unusual spot-on symbol for the dominant theme of the book. The observed is not the topic of the book, it’s the observer who is interesting but doesn’t really get into focus as much as I would have wanted.
An initially nameless Woman with the Yellow Cardigan observes the titular Woman in the Purple Skirt in a park. At first her observations strike as pedestrian, but very soon Natsuko Imamura lets her narrator venture off into full on stalker mode. The prose is cool, detached, as the narrator comes ever close to the Woman in the Purple Skirt, even sharing a job with her. What the intentions are of the narrator is unclear, maybe even to her self besides a vague wish to have a friend. Things spiral out of hand as the male gaze and patronage enters the plot, but the conclusion is surprisingly tame, in a sense bringing the book full circle.
I breezed through the book and while not being especially touched or moved, Natsuko Imamura kept me sufficiently guessing on developments to keep me an engaged, if sometimes alienated, reader - 2,5 stars rounded up.
The edition of The Woman in the Purple Skirt I read has a faceless woman with a mirror in her hand as cover, and this is an unusual spot-on symbol for the dominant theme of the book. The observed is not the topic of the book, it’s the observer who is interesting but doesn’t really get into focus as much as I would have wanted.
An initially nameless Woman with the Yellow Cardigan observes the titular Woman in the Purple Skirt in a park. At first her observations strike as pedestrian, but very soon Natsuko Imamura lets her narrator venture off into full on stalker mode. The prose is cool, detached, as the narrator comes ever close to the Woman in the Purple Skirt, even sharing a job with her. What the intentions are of the narrator is unclear, maybe even to her self besides a vague wish to have a friend. Things spiral out of hand as the male gaze and patronage enters the plot, but the conclusion is surprisingly tame, in a sense bringing the book full circle.
I breezed through the book and while not being especially touched or moved, Natsuko Imamura kept me sufficiently guessing on developments to keep me an engaged, if sometimes alienated, reader - 2,5 stars rounded up.
May 23, 2025
Pick this one as my read for Woman in Translation month! And it is quite a quirky and entertaining story. The book's insights from the author come off as whimsical, charming, and occasionally poignant.
In a world that was already dealing with a despondency epidemic before COVID-19, Imamura's book is a timely read as it is brimming with that nebulous, metropolitan loneliness that appears to be a trait of most modern Japanese writing. As it illustrates the difficulties faced by common workers in Japan's economy and work-life culture, The Woman in the Purple Skirt also provides a great discernment into Japanese society. For most of Japan's working class, job uncertainty and few professional options are daily realities, contrary to what we often see from the advancement of the country.
Admittedly, I don't know what I should be getting after reading this one at first. I was confused the moment it ends as I was trying to decipher if this was supposed to be about the Woman in the Purple Skirt or figuratively trying to highlight the Yellow Cardigan Woman's obsession and loneliness. You could have trouble with this if you prefer a gratifying conclusion and an easy-to-follow narrative. Rather than focusing on the plot, Imamura writes in straightforward, often nearly factual expression, but the writing's clarity obscures the reality of the situation.
While I don't usually enjoy books with rather ambiguous endings, Imamura left just enough for us to ponder on the wonders of both the woman in Purple Skirt and Yellow Skirt. It's just left to you what to make of it, which I could see why this book may not work out for most readers as it is not often that people are equipped of one's culture.
In a world that was already dealing with a despondency epidemic before COVID-19, Imamura's book is a timely read as it is brimming with that nebulous, metropolitan loneliness that appears to be a trait of most modern Japanese writing. As it illustrates the difficulties faced by common workers in Japan's economy and work-life culture, The Woman in the Purple Skirt also provides a great discernment into Japanese society. For most of Japan's working class, job uncertainty and few professional options are daily realities, contrary to what we often see from the advancement of the country.
Admittedly, I don't know what I should be getting after reading this one at first. I was confused the moment it ends as I was trying to decipher if this was supposed to be about the Woman in the Purple Skirt or figuratively trying to highlight the Yellow Cardigan Woman's obsession and loneliness. You could have trouble with this if you prefer a gratifying conclusion and an easy-to-follow narrative. Rather than focusing on the plot, Imamura writes in straightforward, often nearly factual expression, but the writing's clarity obscures the reality of the situation.
While I don't usually enjoy books with rather ambiguous endings, Imamura left just enough for us to ponder on the wonders of both the woman in Purple Skirt and Yellow Skirt. It's just left to you what to make of it, which I could see why this book may not work out for most readers as it is not often that people are equipped of one's culture.
October 20, 2020
3,5. Desde que vi esta novedad tuve la necesidad imperiosa de leerla. Tanto la portada, como la sinopsis me recordaron muchísimo a "La dependienta" de Sayaka Murata, y esta fue una de mis lecturas favoritas del año pasado. Ha sido todo un acierto, y aunque no me ha parecido tan contundente como me lo pareció en su día "La dependienta", también lo he disfrutado mucho.
A través de los observadores (y acosadores) ojos de nuestra narradora, descubriremos el día a día de una extraña y enigmática mujer, a la que todos apodan "la mujer de la falda violeta". Nuestra narradora pasa los días persiguiendo a esta mujer, mientras hace un repaso de todos los detalles que conoce de la vida de esta. Sus paseos por el barrio, el asiento donde descansa cuando acude por las tardes al parque, todos los trabajos que ha tenido y ha perdido... Lo extraño de esa falda violeta que nunca se quita y el aparente silencio, transforman a esta mujer en un enigma allá donde va y todos reparan rápidamente en su presencia.
No voy a engañar, es un libro extraño y probablemente no disfrutable por todo el mundo. Pero lo que es a mí, me ha mantenido en vilo todo el tiempo. A veces, no sabía bien hacia donde iba la historia o que me quería contar, pero el viaje me seguía pareciendo interesante. De hecho, tiene un toque como de misterio, que consigue atraparte durante el transcurso de las páginas. Y cuando empiezas a entender todo lo que te quiere contar, ya solo es disfrute (y un poco de impotencia). Además, es de esos libros que te dice mucho más de lo que una lectura superficial pueda transmitir.
De una manera muy sencilla, vamos a ver una crítica a la sociedad, como lo diferente se señala. Atrae al inicio, pero asusta rápidamente. Y la sociedad castiga la diferencia. Si te sales de la norma, eres castigada. En la novela vemos como la mujer de la falda violeta es constantemente juzgada, insultada, e incluso, repudiada. Las excusas para este comportamiento siempre son las habladurías entre unos y otros. De tanto contar una mentira o suposición, se vuelve verdad.
La autora se sumerge completamente en esta nueva oleada asiática de autoras que hablan sobre el machismo en países como Japón o Corea. A través de una relación que la mujer mantendrá con un hombre casado, veremos como la sociedad la castiga a ella, como trepa. No al hombe como infiel. La historia más antigua del mundo, pero no por ello deja de sorprender y asquear.
En definitiva, es una historia sencilla, que se lee de un tirón, especialmente rara, pero que cuenta mucho más de lo que a priori pueda parecer. Quizás lo único que me ha fallado es que me hubiera gustado que el final fuera algo más contundente. Y también se me ha hecho muy corta. Por lo demás, muy disfrutable Ya estoy deseando que publiquen algo más de la autora, que este me ha sabido a poco. Necesito más.
A través de los observadores (y acosadores) ojos de nuestra narradora, descubriremos el día a día de una extraña y enigmática mujer, a la que todos apodan "la mujer de la falda violeta". Nuestra narradora pasa los días persiguiendo a esta mujer, mientras hace un repaso de todos los detalles que conoce de la vida de esta. Sus paseos por el barrio, el asiento donde descansa cuando acude por las tardes al parque, todos los trabajos que ha tenido y ha perdido... Lo extraño de esa falda violeta que nunca se quita y el aparente silencio, transforman a esta mujer en un enigma allá donde va y todos reparan rápidamente en su presencia.
No voy a engañar, es un libro extraño y probablemente no disfrutable por todo el mundo. Pero lo que es a mí, me ha mantenido en vilo todo el tiempo. A veces, no sabía bien hacia donde iba la historia o que me quería contar, pero el viaje me seguía pareciendo interesante. De hecho, tiene un toque como de misterio, que consigue atraparte durante el transcurso de las páginas. Y cuando empiezas a entender todo lo que te quiere contar, ya solo es disfrute (y un poco de impotencia). Además, es de esos libros que te dice mucho más de lo que una lectura superficial pueda transmitir.
De una manera muy sencilla, vamos a ver una crítica a la sociedad, como lo diferente se señala. Atrae al inicio, pero asusta rápidamente. Y la sociedad castiga la diferencia. Si te sales de la norma, eres castigada. En la novela vemos como la mujer de la falda violeta es constantemente juzgada, insultada, e incluso, repudiada. Las excusas para este comportamiento siempre son las habladurías entre unos y otros. De tanto contar una mentira o suposición, se vuelve verdad.
La autora se sumerge completamente en esta nueva oleada asiática de autoras que hablan sobre el machismo en países como Japón o Corea. A través de una relación que la mujer mantendrá con un hombre casado, veremos como la sociedad la castiga a ella, como trepa. No al hombe como infiel. La historia más antigua del mundo, pero no por ello deja de sorprender y asquear.
En definitiva, es una historia sencilla, que se lee de un tirón, especialmente rara, pero que cuenta mucho más de lo que a priori pueda parecer. Quizás lo único que me ha fallado es que me hubiera gustado que el final fuera algo más contundente. Y también se me ha hecho muy corta. Por lo demás, muy disfrutable Ya estoy deseando que publiquen algo más de la autora, que este me ha sabido a poco. Necesito más.
December 24, 2025
على عكس الكثيرين، ارى أن الشعب الياباني هو من أكثر الشعوب بؤساً. ساعات عمل مجنونة جعلت كل كائن آدمي منهم لا يُرى إلا آلة إنتاج تعمل بلا توقف.
رأيت العديد من الوثائقيات التي تُصور مدى الانحدار النفسي والإنساني الذي وصل له الإنسان الياباني جراء الإخلاص القومي التاريخي للعمل. وتلك الرواية من أفضل ما صور ضياع الإنسان الياباني في عزلته ووحدته.
بطلتان للعمل، نشعر وكأنهما شخص واحد. تعيش كل منهما بلا روابط بها أي نوع من الحميمية مع العالم الخارجي. تعيش الراوية متلصصة على حياة شخص آخر، وكأنها تنظر للمرآة فترى انعكاساً لحياتها في هذا الشخص. وفي النهاية تتحول لنسخة مماثلة لها.
حكاية غريبة ومثيرة للاهتمام وتستحق القراءة
رأيت العديد من الوثائقيات التي تُصور مدى الانحدار النفسي والإنساني الذي وصل له الإنسان الياباني جراء الإخلاص القومي التاريخي للعمل. وتلك الرواية من أفضل ما صور ضياع الإنسان الياباني في عزلته ووحدته.
بطلتان للعمل، نشعر وكأنهما شخص واحد. تعيش كل منهما بلا روابط بها أي نوع من الحميمية مع العالم الخارجي. تعيش الراوية متلصصة على حياة شخص آخر، وكأنها تنظر للمرآة فترى انعكاساً لحياتها في هذا الشخص. وفي النهاية تتحول لنسخة مماثلة لها.
حكاية غريبة ومثيرة للاهتمام وتستحق القراءة
May 30, 2022
2 ½ stars
The Woman in the Purple Skirt is a thing that exists.
Did it elicit any particular reactions, feelings, emotions—be positive or negative—from me? Besides a big fat ‘meh', not really.
This short novel never truly delivers on its premise. After reading the summary, I was expecting this to be a psychological tale about voyeurism and obsession, something in the vein of Patricia Highsmith/Alfred Hitchcock, but what we get in actuality is...I don't even know. Something that is surprisingly—and disappointingly—vanilla. The narrative doesn't play its scenario up like say Oyinkan Braithwaite does in My Sister, the Serial Killer. Nor does it succeed in capturing the mind of someone who is spiralling into obsession, as Danzy Senna does in New People (now that is a disturbing read). I was neither amused nor troubled by The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Yes, the narrator is a creep but her creeping is just so...dull? Predictable?
She refers to herself as ‘the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan' (whether she actually even wears a yellow cardigan 24/7 is doubtful) and she is obsessed with ‘the Woman in the Purple Skirt' (what kind of purple shade? what type of skirt? no clue). Our narrator is elusive when it comes to her own identity, and we learn virtually nothing about who she is, what motivates her, or why she is so fixated on this random woman. ‘The Woman in the Purple Skirt' seems rather unremarkable, one could say even a bit of a nonentity. Maybe our narrator finds this woman's ‘undefinedness' inviting or relatable? I don't know. Anyhow, without making herself seen or known our ‘clever' protagonist manipulates the Woman in the Purple Skirt into applying for a job as a housekeeper in the very hotel she works at. Once her ‘prey' begins working there our narrator can watch all the more closely. She observes her progress in the job, whether she gets on or not with their colleagues, what type of worker she is. Our MC spends most of the remaining narrative spying on the Woman in the Purple Skirt (is she allowed to wear a purple skirt at work? seems unlikely) and overhearing her colleagues gossiping about this new recruit. That no one seems to notice that this person—who is possibly wearing a bright yellow jumper—is always lurking about does seem unlikely, but then again it seemed to kind of fit in with the almost-but-not-quite absurdist quality of this story.
Nothing of note really happens. There are no interesting dynamics going on, nor do our main women feel particularly fleshed out. The story trudges on, with most scenes now seeming to take place at this hotel. Towards the end there is this rather anticlimactic scene that is meant to serve as this big moment but...it just felt flat. I wish the narrative had either embraced a sillier, more absurdist, tone or that it had been more fully committed to being a disquieting psychological tale about obsession, jealousy, ‘doubleness'. What we get instead is a fairly formulaic and painfully bland concoction that is neither here nor there. The Woman in the Purple Skirt does not make for a particularly quirky or suspenseful read and I will likely forget all about its existence in the next following days. I am sure that others readers will have more positive thoughts on this novel so I recommend you check their reviews out.
review on: ❀ blog ❀ thestorygraph ❀ letterboxd ❀ tumblr ❀ ko-fi ❀
April 20, 2021
A delectably weird little bonbon of a book. Immediately unsettling, pulling dread from thin air, and happy to leave you with plenty of unanswered questions. If you haven't read much modern Japanese fiction in translation, now is a great time to start as we're getting all kinds of interesting books these days.
This is a book about obsession, you can certainly see the ways in which it's similar to a lot of the domestic thrillers coming out these days, where one woman becomes obsessed with another. But it's also a book where not much happens outside of one woman (our narrator, the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan) watching another (the titular Woman in the Purple Skirt). Just watching, just noting, and yet, as you get deeper into the book you have less questions about the woman being observed and many more about the woman doing the observing.
Even though a lot of the time not much happens, you keep wondering what will happen. It's an impressive tightrope walk, meticulously done with a smart ending to boot. Less "quirky" than Convenience Store Woman but more accessible than the surreal The Hole, it's a fascinating slow burn.
This is a book about obsession, you can certainly see the ways in which it's similar to a lot of the domestic thrillers coming out these days, where one woman becomes obsessed with another. But it's also a book where not much happens outside of one woman (our narrator, the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan) watching another (the titular Woman in the Purple Skirt). Just watching, just noting, and yet, as you get deeper into the book you have less questions about the woman being observed and many more about the woman doing the observing.
Even though a lot of the time not much happens, you keep wondering what will happen. It's an impressive tightrope walk, meticulously done with a smart ending to boot. Less "quirky" than Convenience Store Woman but more accessible than the surreal The Hole, it's a fascinating slow burn.
September 2, 2022
It's definitely a unique story, but sadly for me it just wasn’t something very captivating. I did have a good time listening to an audiobook, but it did not bring anything new to think afterwords.
August 20, 2024
A surreal and quirky novel that addresses the complicated lines between a desire for human connection and obsession. Told in the matter of fact and airy voice of our narrator, we see the toll that loneliness takes on individuals, how the idea of friendship and familiarity can often blur into something malicious and outrageous, and how working class woman are either brushed aside or subjected to unsettling scrutiny. Fast paced, funny, and bursting with impatience, The Woman in the Purple Skirt is a novel that echoes the screams of those longing to be heard.
June 16, 2021
This was sooooooo dope.
OMG. Folks are really crazy. Like, it's a lot!
This book made me burst out with joy at times, and also made me ask myself: Chantel, what are you reading right now!? What am I reading? What is really going on right now?
You should read it. I got an almost freaky late 80's vibe from it. It was sooo good. I haven't been this intrigued and excited in awhile, and then it felt nuts and descended into madness. It was an emotional rollercoaster that you don't realize you're on until it's too late, and then you have to ask yourself what you were thinking. Why did you rationalize this voyeurism? I came away with so many questions and great take aways.
Lastly, the whole thing was awkward. I loved it. The end.
OMG. Folks are really crazy. Like, it's a lot!
This book made me burst out with joy at times, and also made me ask myself: Chantel, what are you reading right now!? What am I reading? What is really going on right now?
You should read it. I got an almost freaky late 80's vibe from it. It was sooo good. I haven't been this intrigued and excited in awhile, and then it felt nuts and descended into madness. It was an emotional rollercoaster that you don't realize you're on until it's too late, and then you have to ask yourself what you were thinking. Why did you rationalize this voyeurism? I came away with so many questions and great take aways.
Lastly, the whole thing was awkward. I loved it. The end.
September 14, 2020
No ha sido para nada lo que me esperaba cuando empezaba a leer... pero para bien. Una novela que parece ir por un camino y luego no solo va por otro sino que sorprende con varios giros inesperados. Pasa de ser una lectura ágil a ser trepidante y provocando ganas de seguir leyendo hasta terminarlo. Y todo con una narrativa cuidada y detallista.
February 19, 2023
3 stars - Quick read - kinda weird and quirky, again pointing out the issues of the hard lives and really sexist struggles of working-class single women in Japan.
November 30, 2021
(3.5) Looking through reviews, this seems to be a book that didn’t work for a lot of people I know; between the opaque blurb and the general bizarreness of the whole thing, I can see why, but it’s so absolutely surreal and silly that I kind of loved it?
The narrator insists that a woman who lives close to her, ‘the Woman in the Purple Skirt’, is a kind of local celebrity, so revered that she has an ‘Exclusively Reserved Seat’ in a nearby park and is an object of fascination for all the children in the area. (All this despite the fact that she’s described as a completely ordinary person.) At first expressing a wish to to befriend her, the narrator (‘the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan’) ultimately manipulates Purple Skirt’s life to the extent that they end up doing the same job in the same workplace. And Yellow Cardigan also appears to be omnipotent, privy to many of Purple Skirt’s most private moments and conversations.
The narrator’s all-consuming obsession with her quarry, paired with the frantic seriousness of her phrasing, makes for several scenes so ridiculous I burst out laughing. It’s all a little sinister, particularly towards the end, but it’s more often absurd and funny. The minimal description on the jacket of the UK edition is certainly right that ‘this invisible observer isn’t a stalker – it’s much more complicated than that’, but a thriller this ain’t. To me it felt spiritually similar to Hiroko Oyamada’s The Factory, but with more farcical humour.
TinyLetter | Linktree
The narrator insists that a woman who lives close to her, ‘the Woman in the Purple Skirt’, is a kind of local celebrity, so revered that she has an ‘Exclusively Reserved Seat’ in a nearby park and is an object of fascination for all the children in the area. (All this despite the fact that she’s described as a completely ordinary person.) At first expressing a wish to to befriend her, the narrator (‘the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan’) ultimately manipulates Purple Skirt’s life to the extent that they end up doing the same job in the same workplace. And Yellow Cardigan also appears to be omnipotent, privy to many of Purple Skirt’s most private moments and conversations.
The narrator’s all-consuming obsession with her quarry, paired with the frantic seriousness of her phrasing, makes for several scenes so ridiculous I burst out laughing. It’s all a little sinister, particularly towards the end, but it’s more often absurd and funny. The minimal description on the jacket of the UK edition is certainly right that ‘this invisible observer isn’t a stalker – it’s much more complicated than that’, but a thriller this ain’t. To me it felt spiritually similar to Hiroko Oyamada’s The Factory, but with more farcical humour.
TinyLetter | Linktree
April 24, 2023
Încă nu mi-e clar ce am citit. Pare o compunere de la școală. Mi-a luat maximum două ore în format electronic, ceea ce e foarte bine, înseamnă că lectura curge rapid.
Dar de ce Doamne, iartă-mă! are cartea asta atâtea premii?! Asta înseamnă literatura de calitate? Asta înseamnă imaginație? Sunt complet dezamăgită!
Concret, cartea o are în centrul atenției pe această femeie cu fustă violet, pe care o urmărește în permanență femeia cu pulover galben (personaj-narator). 🙈 În permanență însemnând efectiv în permanență! Vedem astfel cum femeia cu fustă violet reușește în sfârșit să se angajeze și cum evoluează la muncă (era femeie de serviciu la un hotel). Bineînțeles, odată cu evoluția datorată unei relații cu un domn sus-pus, femeia cu fustă violet se schimbă. Până când un eveniment neașteptat o face să dispară din peisaj.
End of story. V-am zis cât e de dezamăgitoare cartea asta? V-am zis. Ok.
Dar de ce Doamne, iartă-mă! are cartea asta atâtea premii?! Asta înseamnă literatura de calitate? Asta înseamnă imaginație? Sunt complet dezamăgită!
Concret, cartea o are în centrul atenției pe această femeie cu fustă violet, pe care o urmărește în permanență femeia cu pulover galben (personaj-narator). 🙈 În permanență însemnând efectiv în permanență! Vedem astfel cum femeia cu fustă violet reușește în sfârșit să se angajeze și cum evoluează la muncă (era femeie de serviciu la un hotel). Bineînțeles, odată cu evoluția datorată unei relații cu un domn sus-pus, femeia cu fustă violet se schimbă. Până când un eveniment neașteptat o face să dispară din peisaj.
End of story. V-am zis cât e de dezamăgitoare cartea asta? V-am zis. Ok.
October 2, 2022
Atât de promițătoare, și totuși s-a dovedit a fi atât de slabă. De parcă autoarea s-a plictisit scriind cartea la un moment dat și a dat pe repede-înainte s-o termine, nemaifiind interesată de cum exact o termină. O lectură frustrantă.
February 14, 2022
Review to come.
June 1, 2021
The Woman in the Purple Skirt is a story of psychological intrigue surrounding stalking, obsession and manipulation which, despite its serious theme, does not lack a special subtle Japanese humour, in which the reader sometimes laughs, but this is never without a melancholic undertone and is written by the winner of multiple prestigious Japanese literary awards. The enigmatic Woman in the Purple Skirt is of indeterminate age, lives alone, does not relate to anyone, has temporary jobs and is the entertainment of the neighbourhood. It's probably because of that purple skirt that she never takes off of her and because she always follows the same routines. People notice her when she leaves the house and children who play in the street chase and insult her. This woman has a special talent: she can walk through crowds without touching anyone, and many have tried to "accidentally" run into her without succeeding. Almost every afternoon, the Woman in the Purple Skirt (tWitPS) buys a single cream brioche and goes to the park in an unnamed Japanese city, where she returns to the same bench to eat it as the local children taunt her and compete for her attention. She is observed at all times by the undetected narrator, the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan who checks what she eats, where she goes and who she encounters. She watches her, constantly, day after day. She knows her every waking move from dawn until dusk. From a distance, the tWitPS looks like a schoolgirl, but there are age spots on her face, and her hair is dry and stiff. Like the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, she is single, she lives in a small, run-down apartment, and she is short on money.
The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan lures her to a job, under the pretence of wanting to be her friend, where she herself works, as a hotel housekeeper at a cleaning agency; soon twitPS is having an affair with the boss. And here is where the two women’s paths finally intersect dramatically and unpredictably. Unfortunately, no one knows or cares about the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. That's the difference between her and tWitPS. Who are these two women really, whose only common traits seem to be precariousness and loneliness? This is a scintillating, enthralling and compulsively readable thriller with creepiness simply oozing from its pages and the slightly surreal aura Japanese stories often exude, which I love. It's a novel with high doses of humour that explores vulnerability and the difficulty of finding one's own place when one is different. The subtle and disturbing tale of an obsession, a story that, in a crescendo of tension, gradually takes on the tones of the thriller, in a spiral of unexpressed desires, loneliness, dynamics of female power and condition, a desperate desire to be visible, to be considered and loved. The cast of characters is small but this is perfect as it allows the focus to be solely on the two women at the centre of the story; they are both idiosyncratic, multidimensional and fascinating to read about and I read with more and more urgency to uncover why they were the way they were. Studiously deadpan, highly original, and unsettling, tWitPS explores the dynamics of envy, the mechanisms of power in the workplace and the vulnerability of unmarried women in a taut, voyeuristic narrative about the sometimes desperate desire to be seen. Highly recommended.
The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan lures her to a job, under the pretence of wanting to be her friend, where she herself works, as a hotel housekeeper at a cleaning agency; soon twitPS is having an affair with the boss. And here is where the two women’s paths finally intersect dramatically and unpredictably. Unfortunately, no one knows or cares about the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. That's the difference between her and tWitPS. Who are these two women really, whose only common traits seem to be precariousness and loneliness? This is a scintillating, enthralling and compulsively readable thriller with creepiness simply oozing from its pages and the slightly surreal aura Japanese stories often exude, which I love. It's a novel with high doses of humour that explores vulnerability and the difficulty of finding one's own place when one is different. The subtle and disturbing tale of an obsession, a story that, in a crescendo of tension, gradually takes on the tones of the thriller, in a spiral of unexpressed desires, loneliness, dynamics of female power and condition, a desperate desire to be visible, to be considered and loved. The cast of characters is small but this is perfect as it allows the focus to be solely on the two women at the centre of the story; they are both idiosyncratic, multidimensional and fascinating to read about and I read with more and more urgency to uncover why they were the way they were. Studiously deadpan, highly original, and unsettling, tWitPS explores the dynamics of envy, the mechanisms of power in the workplace and the vulnerability of unmarried women in a taut, voyeuristic narrative about the sometimes desperate desire to be seen. Highly recommended.
October 20, 2021
Çevrenizde neredeyse her gün gördüğünüz, dikkatinizi çekmesine rağmen bir türlü konuşma fırsatınızın olmadığı birileri var mı? Ya da ‘şu kişiyle çok iyi arkadaş olurdum aslında’ dediğiniz birileri?
Böyle durumlarda benim tavrım hiç değişmiyor: ilk adımı karşı taraftan bekliyorum. Keşfedilmenin- merak edilmenin hazzını yaşamak istediğimden de olabilir, ilk adımı atmaya yetersiz olan cesaretimden dolayı da.
Ama sarı ceketli kadın benden biraz farklı. O mor etekli kadın ile arkadaş olmak istiyor. Ona yaklaşmanın yollarını arıyor. Hem de tüm detaylarıyla… Takıntı haline gelene dek…
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Mor Etekli Kadın okuru diken üstünde tutan, kısa ve tempolu bir kitap. İlk sayfasından itibaren ana karakterimizin izlediği bir kadını takip ediyoruz. Ana karakterimiz ise bilinmezliğini korudukça takip eden ile takip edilen yer değiştiriyor okurun zihninde. Tam da bu noktada ‘bir şeyler olacak’ tedirginliği başlıyor. Yaklaşan bir fırtınanın önlemini alırcasına bekleme safhasına geçiyoruz. Natsuko İmamura karakterler arasında dengeyi koruyor. Bunu yaparken bol gözlemden ve ufak ayrıntılardan faydalanıyor. Sadece bir takibi değil aynı zamanda kadın olmaya dair de deneyimler sunuyor. İmamura’nın dili, olay örgüsü sade. Kitabı sevmemin sebebi de bu sadelikteki güzellik.
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Ali Volkan Erdemir’in her zamanki gibi göz alıcı çevirisi, Utku Lomlu’nun kitabın iskeletini çok iyi biçimde yansıtabildiği kapak tasarımıyla~
Böyle durumlarda benim tavrım hiç değişmiyor: ilk adımı karşı taraftan bekliyorum. Keşfedilmenin- merak edilmenin hazzını yaşamak istediğimden de olabilir, ilk adımı atmaya yetersiz olan cesaretimden dolayı da.
Ama sarı ceketli kadın benden biraz farklı. O mor etekli kadın ile arkadaş olmak istiyor. Ona yaklaşmanın yollarını arıyor. Hem de tüm detaylarıyla… Takıntı haline gelene dek…
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Mor Etekli Kadın okuru diken üstünde tutan, kısa ve tempolu bir kitap. İlk sayfasından itibaren ana karakterimizin izlediği bir kadını takip ediyoruz. Ana karakterimiz ise bilinmezliğini korudukça takip eden ile takip edilen yer değiştiriyor okurun zihninde. Tam da bu noktada ‘bir şeyler olacak’ tedirginliği başlıyor. Yaklaşan bir fırtınanın önlemini alırcasına bekleme safhasına geçiyoruz. Natsuko İmamura karakterler arasında dengeyi koruyor. Bunu yaparken bol gözlemden ve ufak ayrıntılardan faydalanıyor. Sadece bir takibi değil aynı zamanda kadın olmaya dair de deneyimler sunuyor. İmamura’nın dili, olay örgüsü sade. Kitabı sevmemin sebebi de bu sadelikteki güzellik.
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Ali Volkan Erdemir’in her zamanki gibi göz alıcı çevirisi, Utku Lomlu’nun kitabın iskeletini çok iyi biçimde yansıtabildiği kapak tasarımıyla~
July 24, 2025
Fresh. Compelling. Different. Quirky and unforgettable!
I loved how punchy this novel was. Short but addressed so many issues women face in the workplace and being a single woman in society- loved it.
I loved how punchy this novel was. Short but addressed so many issues women face in the workplace and being a single woman in society- loved it.
June 23, 2023
„Kobieta w Fioletowej Spódnicy” to krótka opowieść idealna dla miłośników thrillerów psychologicznych. Historia będąca studium wielkiej obsesji, zabiera nas w podróż i ukazuje losy głównej bohaterki - Kobiety w Żółtym Kardiganie, która na kartach powieści stopniowo zatraca się w zazdrości oraz desperacji. Ogromnie angażująca, ale i niepokojąca książka, którą autorka skonstruowała tak, by czytelnik ani na chwilę nie mógł się od niej oderwać i być czujnym przy lekturze każdego zdania. Bardzo niepozorna, a zapewniam, przerażająca w swoim wydźwięku. Subtelna, niejednoznaczna, pełna szczegółów - warta tego, aby pozwolić jej się pochłonąć.
June 11, 2022
Dacă ar fi să rezum ce am simțit citind această carte, ar fi ceva la modul: mi-a plăcut? Da. M-a emoționat? Nu. O carte bine scrisă, cu un personaj central interesant în ciudățenia lui și nu, nu vorbesc de "femeia cu fustă violet", ci de cealaltă (da, mai este una), o poveste care m-a prins, dar care s-a terminat prea repede după gustul meu, fără să-mi provoace emoție. Am asistat la o întâmplare care m-a făcut curioasă și m-a lăsat aproape rece. Și totuși, am rămas acolo, în carte, până la capăt, să văd ce se mai petrece și cum se termină. Iar ăsta este semn bun.
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