White Elephant

by Mako Idemitsu, Juliet Winters Carpenter (Translator)

With a deeply-imbedded indebtedness to their father Morimasa Morimoto, a self-made man in post-war Japan, two sisters struggle to uphold a family legacy. Sakiko moves to the fantastically free United States. Fragile and unsure in 1960s San Francisco, she clings to her brazen artist husband for stability. Hiroko, headstrong and irreverent, uses her father's money to move to New York, promising to become a famous artist. Intolerant of weakness in others, she crumbles in the face of her own shortcomings. From catty carpooling moms to manipulative stoners, abortions to adultery, White Elephant is a vivid book from a seasoned artist turned writer. Mako Idemitsu, daughter of Rockefeller-esque petroleum executive Sazo Idemitsu, reconfigures her own family discord to reflect on the binds of being female in this gorgeous English translation. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Mako Idemitsu immigrated to the United States in 1963 where she met and married abstract expressionist painter Sam Francis. Disillusioned with housewife life she picked up an 8mm camera and became a pioneer in experimental video and the feminist art movement of the 1970s. Internationally acclaimed, her work has been featured in major museums worldwide and is included in the MOMA's permanent collection. This is her debut novel. Award-winning translator Juliet Winters Carpenter has rendered the works of Abe Kobo, Fumiko Enchi, and Minae Mizumura. Within the year she will be the first person to have won the prestigious Japan-US Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature twice.

Genres: Japan

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2011

Reviews

[Natasha Singh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book. I found the nonlinear narration very distracting – the book jumps haphazardly between time periods and narrators – and the exaggerated misery, pathos, and antagonism started getting on my nerves after a while. However, I (luckily) took a break to read about the author, and I’m glad I did, not only because she is a remarkable woman, but also because it made me realize how much of the story is autobiographical. I’m particularly intrigued by how each character got a little bit of her, and I liked the subplot that explored Paul and Hiroko’s artistry through a feminist lens – no spoilers, but I was reminded very strongly of The Vegetarian. The ending was okay, a little corny, but it’s a fictionalized account of an admittedly traumatizing life, and I’m not going to disrespect it. I will just end this review with a joke instead.

Therapist: Evil Makioka Sisters can’t hurt you, it’s not real
Evil Makioka Sisters: White Elephant

[World Literature Today]

"The novel has virtually no plot, and the point of view changes frequently. Occasionally, the otherwise straightforward narrative becomes overly self-conscious, as in flashbacks relating memories of conversations overheard from within the womb. Overall, however, the collage-effect results in a refreshingly frank portrait of these materially privileged Japanese women. Although the lives of the fictional sisters seem, at times, unbearably bleak, it’s consoling to know that the real-life Mako Idemitsu, daughter of Japanese petroleum executive Sazo Idemitsu, went on to become a successful author and video artist." - Suzanne Kamata

This book was reviewed in the March/April 2017 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website:

https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/...

[Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

How are human made up; time, culture, family bound to the time and the culture?

[Tiffo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is full of jumbled thoughts more so than complete sentences. I didn't start to *really* get into it until the last 70 pages. Not sure if I should blame the way this autobiography was translated or if it was simply the style the author chose to write it but the transitions in this story felt incredibly disjointed, and at times, pointless. I would have to re-read the same lines over again because of the awkward way things were expressed.

With the number of issues the main character and her family were going through, I was expecting something more... confrontational. But again since this is more of an autobiography than a fictional story where actual character development can happen, I probably shouldn't have come in with high expectations. I did, however, appreciate the issues of discrimination as an Asian woman in America and how people suffer from child abuse/trauma in their adulthood being brought to light.

Overall... meh. I wish I had a bigger emotion to take away from White Elephant.

[BMR, LCSW · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a digital review copy from the publisher.

The writing was fine, lots of exposition and background which I enjoyed.

I only got 36% into the book before I quit in disgust and steaming fury. I was *so* angry and disgusted with the sister of the protagonist, I could not go any further.

I'd say 4 stars for writing, lost a star from review overall over the story in my anger at the character.