03/2024 The Premonition, by Banana Yoshimoto

[Alison]

Our read for March should be refreshingly easy to get ahold of—The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto (English translation by Asa Yoneda). It was published in Japan in 1988(!), but only released in English translation last year.

Yayoi, a nineteen-year-old woman from a seemingly loving middle-class family, has lately been haunted by the feeling that she has forgotten something important from her childhood. Her premonition grows stronger day by day and, as if led by it, she decides to move in with her mysterious aunt, Yukino.

No one understands her aunt's unusual lifestyle. For as long as Yayoi can remember, Yukino has lived alone in an old gloomy single-family home, quietly, almost as though asleep. When she is not working, Yukino spends all day in her pajamas, clipping her nails and trimming her split ends. She eats only when she feels like it, and she often falls asleep lying on her side in the hallway. She sometimes wakes Yayoi at two in the morning to be her drinking companion, sometimes serves flan in a huge mixing bowl for dinner, and watches Friday the 13th over and over to comfort herself. A study desk, old stuffed animals—things Yukino wants to forget—are piled up in her backyard like a graveyard of her memories.

For anyone who is interested, I did a podcast episode on Banana Yoshimoto that should also give some context for Japan in 1988—right before the end of the "Bubble Era": https://readjapaneseliterature.com/20....

[Bill]

I found a 50 cent used copy of this at Japanese library in my area, so my miserliness will overcome my laziness, and I'll be reading this in Japanese.

Yoshimoto is one of the authors I've read in Japanese before. I'm sure it'll be easy enough.

[Hollie]

Hello! This is my first time adding to the discussion. I happened to already be reading The Premonition and ended up finishing it today. I'm excited to see what other people think. Here are my general thoughts from my review:

There is something so unique about Banana Yoshimoto's writing. She captures the essence of fleeting feelings that I have yet to see elsewhere. This is the third work I've read by her—Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow being the other two, and I found a consistency with her writing that had created some fairly high expectations for when I inevitably read her other work.

The Premonition follows Yayoi, our central protagonist who experiences deep feelings of something being amiss in her family. These feelings are so strong that she seeks out her aunt whose presence and home are laced with a nostalgia that she can't quite place.

The Premonition does deal with some taboo relationships. Without knowing the direction, I hesitantly read on, but found myself reassured by the complexity and awareness that each character had towards their respected relationship.

[Alison]

hollie wrote: "Hello! This is my first time adding to the discussion. I happened to already be reading The Premonition and ended up finishing it today. I'm excited to see what other people think. Here are my gene..."

Welcome, Hollie! I read about half of The Premonition this fall, but got distracted by other books. You've got me excited to pick it back up.

The short story collection Dead-End Memories might be an interesting "next Yoshimoto" for you. It's about a decade newer than what you've read. (It was only released in English translation in 2022, though.) It's got the same "essence of fleeting feelings" you described so well, but it's also more... mature?

[Bill]

I can't say I really remember any of her others. I've forgotten what all of them are about. It's been such a long time since I read them. But I do recall liking Lizard a lot more than Asleep or The Lake or Goodbye Tsugumi or NP.

[Hollie]

Alison wrote: "hollie wrote: "Hello! This is my first time adding to the discussion. I happened to already be reading The Premonition and ended up finishing it today. I'm excited to see what other people think. H..."

Thank you for the welcome! I'm glad I could ignite some excitement for diving back into The Premonition; I hope you enjoy it.

I'm interested in reading Dead-End Memories too! I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I'm excited to give it a read. It's definitely a priority on my ever-growing tbr list.

[Jack]

Been on travel all day today so finished The Premonition, then watched (on a totally unrelated interest) several episodes of “The Makamai: Cooking for The Maiko House. That was fun.
This month I hope to read more of Yoshimoto’s writings and then come back to The Premonition again.

[Bill]

I thought the first 20 pages about the comfortable, accepting aunt were quite nice, and then it ends with our narrator 19 and having her "sad premonition" (the title of the book).

Then it jumps ahead in time, and she's forgotten about her aunt? I'm unclear on that. But after 10 rather boring pages of her family settling into a new house I'm going to call it a night and try again tomorrow.

[Jack]

I liked this story and I was thinking how it felt to read it.
The Premonition builds slowly and you feel a foreshadowing of a crest that will reorient the main character and the significant people around her. You know this change will come although you do not know the shape of it and the landscape afterwards. It builds slowly (and maybe that is the difficult part). This slow build of a story that feels real greatly appeals to me. There are changes that continue after the part we read is completed, so we can muse on that future also.
This is early Yoshimoto (1988). The only work earlier that I have read is Moonlight Shadow (1986). Both these stories explore a theme of how loss affects our sense of self and relationship to the world. The Premonition also explores what constitutes family and how that also relates to our personal understanding of self and our relationships to others.

[Stacia]

Hi! Like hollie, this is my first time commenting on a book in this group.

I read this in one sitting tonight. I liked it quite a bit but...
(view spoiler)[the icky relationships of teacher/student & siblings who find out they are not blood related so it's ok to move from siblings to being a couple make me pause. Normally I would have easily rated this book 4 stars but I truly cannot bring myself to rate it higher due to the relationships. (hide spoiler)]

Other than that, I find it an intriguing juxtaposition that in spite of what would probably be characters dealing with PTSD & childhood trauma, the story overall felt quite low-key & even pleasant (most of the time, imo).

I thought it was interesting how Yukino was presented as quirky & interesting, not a stereotypical Japanese woman (messy house, doesn't know how to cook, shuns routine, etc.). And yet once I knew her backstory, her actions were probably representative of depression from her own childhood trauma.

When you really think about the amount of trauma that both Yayio & Yukino dealt with, I find it an interesting choice that it's almost presented in a "light" manner (vs. how some books would portray adults who lived through childhood trauma). I read Haruki Murakami's Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche a few years ago & I feel that the low-key/carry on vibe in spite of trauma to be similar to Underground's non-fiction look at the Japanese psyche in general when dealing with something devastating.

Does Yayoi have premonition/ESP or is it repressed memories driving (most of) her "ESP"?

[Laurel]

I, like Stacia, wondered whether Yayoi's trauma was driving her intuitive knowledge of her aunt's movements, rather than it being true telepathy.

I think I felt too uncomfortable with the treatment of the taboo nature of two of the relationships to enjoy this. I usually enjoy Yoshimoto, and have reread some of her books many times.

[Jack]

It is worth exploring the nature of the two relationships from legal, culturally norm moral, and ethical perspectives. I want to hold off a bit to let more of the group finish the story. (Thanks for using spoiler tags!) Yoshimoto seems to push the envelope while giving the reader emotional outs.

At least in her early work, Yoshimoto explores what makes up family and how relationships (re)define our notion of self. Loss trauma and dreams are also both key story fulcrums.

I hope to read this again near the end of the month after I go through a few more Yoshimoto works.
…
Reading a few of the early works: Moonlight Shadow, Kitchen, Asleep, Goodbye Tsugumi. - these had provided me a little more depth of appreciation and maybe a better view of where Yoshimoto pushes boundaries of family, loss bringing change of self, effects of love as transmutation, as themes in her stories.

In N.P., a little later story then The Premonition, Yoshimoto pushes the envelope on relationships even further and she says in her afterword that, “I do hope to have improved on some shortcomings found in my other books.” You can see her progression from The Premonition should you read N.P. .

[Emma]

I am about half done, and so far, I think it's actually my favorite by this author.
I love the flow and description of characters.
First, I wasn't too sure with the many flashbacks, but actually they are easy to follow, and I think they fit perfectly with the premonition theme.
I'm curious to see where this is going

[Bill]

I'm almost half done. I'm pleased to see that my earlier guess at how much Yayoi had forgotten was wrong. She hasn't forgotten her aunt, but perhaps everything before she was at her grandfather's funeral, when she was six years old.

Her 'telepathy' isn't a result of trauma, because her aunt says she had it before the trauma occurred, and that the whole family would entertain themselves with it.

I like the subtlety of the relationship between the aunt and the parents. We never directly see them being jealous of each other, but do catch glimpses through one-sided telephone conversations. Clearly (and understandably) her parents are worried about losing her to her aunt.

Interestingly, the name Yukino has yet to appear in the original. She's always just 'aunt'.

[Bill]

Finally at a bit past halfway through, Yoshino's name appears as she leaves a brief note at the house in Karuizawa. Then so we don't forget it, her ex-boyfriend appears and uses her name a lot ^_^

[Bill]

Here I am monologuing again...

Only 10 pages left to go! This 1991 edition also includes a 2-page (1988) and then a 1-page (1991) afterward by the author, followed by 7 pages of analysis by the publisher. Is any of this included in the English edition?

[Jack]

My English language edition;published by counterpoint in 2023 did not have an author afterward. I didn’t notice until you mentioned the Japanese edition had one. That is strange since the other English translations of her books generally have afterwards. -j

[Bill]

It's turns out there's nothing special in the 1988 afterward. The usual "I want to write many more books", "Thanks for reading", and "Special thanks to the following people".

The 1991 afterward says this book was revised from the 1988 version and she apologizes to those who preferred it the old way. She mentions the song/artist she stole the title of this book from and how her singing career is finally taking off.

The editor's 'analysis' says almost nothing about the novel, and mostly writes compliments towards the author and her earlier works.

[Bill]

Spoilering out my comments on the two relationships

(view spoiler)[

Yukino's relationship is seriously wrong and should be illegal, whether she's a teacher or not. A 30 year old woman with a 17 year old boy? And then she dumps him before graduation. I hate to think that she might have done this before or will do it again...

This (especially the teacher-student part) is all too common in Japanese fiction. All of the examples that come immediately to mind are from manga, but I know I've seen it in literature as well. And while it's presented differently, it occurs in both boys' manga and in girls' manga. Why? Certainly it falls into the category of "forbidden love" which can make a variety of situation more appealing for breaking the rules, but these rules are here for very good reasons.

-----

I am more tolerant of Yayoi's relationship. They have feelings for each other, they don't get together until they know they're not related, and both are willing to live apart in the interim. Should Tetsuo's parents have been worried about this when they brought Yayoi to live with them? Unfortunately, the parents only ever appear briefly, and we don't know what they're thinking. They might even be okay with this.

This is another situation that's called "forbidden love" in Japan. It's far more common in manga than in literature, but something is reminding me of a pre-modern tale where an adopted daughter marries the son of the house. It also occurs where the girl is bought in around age 10 (Yayoi was 6?) as a maid who later becomes romantically involved with the young master.

Manga usually spins this with a lot of melodrama, with couples getting together knowing they're brother and sister or not (and then finding out they are), and then later finding out they're not. The needle can flip a few times before it's finally resolved. Sometimes the parents are angry, sometimes tolerant, and sometimes even overjoyed at the relationship. It all strikes me as unrealistic rather than disturbing.

-----

Does Yoshimoto intend for us to draw a line between the two relationships? Does Tetsuo feel it's now okay to get together with Yayoi immediately after finding out about Yoshino's far greater transgression?

(hide spoiler)]

[Emma]

Jack wrote: "I liked this story and I was thinking how it felt to read it.
The Premonition builds slowly and you feel a foreshadowing of a crest that will reorient the main character and the significant people..."
I also liked a lo the slow pacing, really just like you slowly try to remember a memory, or a dream

[Emma]

hollie wrote: "Hello! This is my first time adding to the discussion. I happened to already be reading The Premonition and ended up finishing it today. I'm excited to see what other people think. Here are my gene..."

Well put Hollie, I also enjoyed it a lot. Just posted my review:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/03/14/...

[Emma]

Bill wrote: "It's turns out there's nothing special in the 1988 afterward. The usual "I want to write many more books", "Thanks for reading", and "Special thanks to the following people".

The 1991 afterward sa..."

Hmm, would be interesting to see what she revised...

[Emma]

Thanks for choosing this book for the group. I have had some disappointments sometimes with some of her books, so I'm glad the group choice encouraged me to read it.
My quick verdict is
"A coming-of-age story with beautiful prose, haunting atmosphere, and vivid characters, that explores self-discovery through memory and family secrets."
If you are interested in reading my full review, with the passages that I liked a lot, it's here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/03/14/...

[Bill]

I have to say that despite my comments in the spoilers, I greatly enjoyed the mood of this book. I know I read it slowly, but I'm sure if I'd been reading it in English I would have raced through it in a day or two.

I picked up several of her books used in Japanese, since they were only 50 cents: Honeymoon, Dead-End Memories, High and Dry, and shirakawa yofune (which turns out to be the original title for Asleep, which I already own in English).

[Jack]

Emma wrote: "Thanks for choosing this book for the group. I have had some disappointments sometimes with some of her books, so I'm glad the group choice encouraged me to read it.
My quick verdict is
"A coming-..."

Thanks Emma, a truly lovely and thoughtful review.
r/Jack

[Patrick]

Bill wrote: "I have to say that despite my comments in the spoilers, I greatly enjoyed the mood of this book. I know I read it slowly, but I'm sure if I'd been reading it in English I would have raced through i..."

I read The Premonition (in English translation) in January and High and Dry (in Simplified Chinese translation) last week. There is a degree of similarity between these two short novels – (view spoiler)[I note you felt the relationship between Yukino and her student in The Premonition to be problematic; did you intentionally pick up High and Dry because of the romantic relationship between the teenage narrator and her teacher, again with an age gap, to see how Banana Yoshimoto handled a similar relationship a decade and a half after writing The Premonition? (hide spoiler)]

For those who enjoyed The Premonition, instead of High and Dry (which has yet to be translated into English), I might recommend Argentine Hag by the same author – the titular character is also a woman who lives alone in a messy, somewhat run-down dwelling – but I'm not exactly sure how easy (or otherwise) it is to get your hands on a copy of the English translation.

[Bill]

I picked up High and Dry because it was only 50 cents. I didn't even read the description ^_^

Hopefully I don't dislike it for the reasons you give... but I can always donate it back where I got it.

[Jack]

Bill wrote: "I picked up High and Dry because it was only 50 cents. I didn't even read the description ^_^

Hopefully I don't dislike it for the reasons you give... but I can always donate it back where I got it."

I have The Honeymoon in the Italian translation by Giorgio Amitrano. I was going to try working through it with a help of a friend, but it may be beyond me (worth trying though).
Please let us know what you think of High & Dry.

[Jack]

Patrick wrote: "Bill wrote: "I have to say that despite my comments in the spoilers, I greatly enjoyed the mood of this book. I know I read it slowly, but I'm sure if I'd been reading it in English I would have ra..."

Patrick, thanks for the insight. I will add Argentine Hag to my tbr list.

[Mircah]

Finsished this book last night. I really like the writing style - easy to read, easy to become absorbed in. You begin thinking it’s about a psychic girl and her quirky aunt, but finally discover it is about two siblings dealing with PTSD in their own ways, which is intriguing. The growing relationship between Yayoi and her adopted brother is hinted at early on, and feels a bit uncomfortable until you realize they aren’t biological siblings; after that, it isn’t completely resolved, but becomes something they will have to decide how to address in future. I guess the point of including it is to wedge in some unease about Yayoi and her growing premonition that her family is not her blood family. The teacher/student relationship of Yukino also feels uncomfortable - but I guess less so when you see that Yukino is emotionally damaged, and more like a child than an adult in many ways. Still, this seems like a family that needs a good therapist. The overall feeling I get from the ending is hopeful. Things have been tough for Yayoi and Yukino, and will continue to be as they struggle to work out their difficult relationships. But the truth has been revealed, and both sisters have a love in their lives that who is committed to them. So maybe happier days are ahead?

[lau ღ]

I finally was able to finish the book! It felt like a really light read as before this one I had just finished "The Makioka Sisters" by Tanizaki (which is pretty long). I was easily drawn to the story from the beginning although I had to get used to the flash backs, it wasn't too hard to follow. I really enjoyed the theme of lost/found family, Yukino was such a likable character to me, her child like personality that heavily contrasted with her role as an aunt/older sister was what I enjoyed the most about her. Honestly I don't have much to say about Yayoi's relationship with her "brother", I personally felt uncomfortable with it from the beginning and even after it was revealed that they weren't blood related I still feel that (at least on Yayoi's pov) it should be weird to have those feelings towards somebody who was raised as your sibling. Another taboo relationship in the story is Yukino's with her student, while it still feel uncomfortable as they have a big age gap, at times I was able to forget she was much older than him since she is always portrayed as a bit immature. Another thing that caught my attention (and saw that it was mentioned before in the discussion) is the relationship between Yayoi's adoptive parents and Yukino, it definitely felt as if there was some unspoken jealousy? or possessiveness over the protagonist. The part I enjoyed the most was when Yayoi along with Tatsuo and Yukino's former lover where in the family cabin sharing stories about their past and how her aunt lived in such a strange way. Overall I enjoyed the story, it left me feeling hopeful for the protagonist but also intrigued as to how they'd continue their lives. Will she move back with he adoptive family? If so, how would she explain her new found feelings towards Tatsuo to her parents? Will Yukino patch things up with her ex? Hopefully they both find the happiness they deserve.

[Jack]

The Premonition was both an enjoyable and thought provoking read for this month. The comments in the thread helped me sort out my feeling about this Yoshimoto work. Similar to Laurel, I was uncomfortable with where the relationship of Yayoi and her brother, Tetsuo, was headed. Mircah's comments above captures my thoughts about that after I completed the book. In the end, I had more problems with the relationship of Yukino and Masahiko.

Yoshimoto further explores and pushes the envelop of similar relationships in N. P., translated by Ann Sherif. This makes sense given the author's publishing history. Translations often do not come available in the order that they were published in the original language.
The Premonition (1988 jpn, 2003 ita, 2023 eng)
NP (1990 jpn, 1992 ita, 1994 eng)
The relationships in NP really pressed my discomfort levels...

So, if you follow the flow of Ms. Yoshimoto's work, the themes she is working on and their exploration become more visible in that context. The other Yoshimoto discussion threads on the forum have also been very helpful.

I am still hoping to read The Premonition one more time in this March window. (done. The second time was worth it.) My closest reading mate will often read books she much likes twice in a row in order to get a deeper reading/appreciation of the work. I am still learning from this example.

Oh, and I just read lau's comments. One thing I like across all of the Yoshimoto books that I have read is a vague sense of hope that the reader is left with. The stories are not neatly tied up or are they fated in the way of Mishima, using the example of Spring Snow, to a beautiful tragic ending. There are up and downs, as in real life, and the possibilities of both in the future.

[Jack]

I am reading through the stories i Lizard and trying to go slowly.
There is some additional comment about Yoshimoto and her exploration of hope in her afterword to Lizard. She writes,
“I believe that we are not born with hope, but rather that it comes to us as a transforming force. The people in my stories are encountering hope for the first time. The process of discovery usually starts when they notice something about themselves or their surroundings that they were never aware of before, or experience anew a forgotten sensation. That type of awakening compels them to act and to change things.”

Excerpt From
Lizard
Banana Yoshimoto
This material may be protected by copyright.

[Mircah]

I agree with Jack that Banana Yoshimoto’s comments about Lizard helped me in deciding how to interpret Premonition.

[Patricia]

I'm finally getting around to reading this one. I know; last day of the month. I've appreciated reading through your comments as they are mostly positive & that gives me more incentive to read this. I've only read one other book by Yoshimoto & I liked that one, so looking forward to getting into this one.

[Bill]

You're never too late. Old threads don't close.

[Tom]

My first Yoshimoto. A very interesting short read. I liked the every day details described in the MC's viewpoint, really sets the character and feelings. I'll look forward to reading more! Thanks to those insightful comments from everyone, they helped me to pick up the book and get involved.

[Katharine]

Hi - I enjoyed this book and was so glad it was available on audio, since that's lately how I'm able to get to enjoy literature. The audio performance always affects things, and I was not a big fan of the performance, found it a bit flat and even in pacing - and as a result, the story felt disjointed.

I probably missed a lot that I would have absorbed in print. No spoilers - but my thought on finishing The Premonition is that it presented some interesting and in-depth self-analysis and insights into personal discovery by Yayoi, the main character. I hope to go back to it and read it in print at some point in the future - I think this story is definitely worthwhile.

[Bill]

Looking over this copy of High & Dry, it's a hardback with no slipcover. Whatever description came with the book must have been on the slipcover, because I have nothing except the author and title. I picked it up solely based on the author.

It's about a 14 year old girl who gets a crush on her after school art teacher, a man twice her age. Yuko knows what she wants and goes out of her way to get it. She quits the art class to not cause problems for the teacher, and approaches him about seeing each other from time to time. A simplistic Freudian reading would be that she's looking for a father figure to replace her own father who moved to the USA and is mostly absent from her life. I don't think that's the right reading here. From comments she makes throughout (Yuko is continually our viewpoint character), she is looking for someone 'safe', someone who isn't going to push her into a physical relationship, because she doesn't yet want one. The teacher is indeed reluctant that way, both because of the disapproval he gets from Yuko's mother, but also because there is another woman in his life already. So the two meet time to time throughout the novel in a way that isn't quite dating, and he shrugs off any mention of him as 'the boyfriend' by third parties.

I admit to thinking worse of the teacher at the end of the novel, when he confesses he may have feelings for her two pages before the end. I wish he had remained a respectable adult who was merely spending friendly time with an ex-student. Though nothing has turned physical, he's already veering into creepy old man territory.

[Jack]

Question: Are there rules and regulations against romantic relations between students and teachers? (answer from Quora)

Yes, there are generally rules and regulations against romantic relationships between students and teachers in Japanese universities.

In Japan, it is considered unethical for a teacher to have a romantic or sexual relationship with a student under their supervision, as it can be seen as an abuse of power and a violation of trust. Most universities in Japan have strict codes of conduct that prohibit such relationships and have penalties for any violations. These rules are in place to ensure a safe and professional learning environment for all students and to prevent any conflicts of interest or favoritism.

Moreover, in some cases, romantic or sexual relationships between students and teachers can also be subject to criminal charges under Japanese law. For example, under the Act on the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims, it is illegal for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a student who is under the age of 18, even if the relationship is consensual.

It's important to note that these regulations are taken very seriously in Japan, and any violations can result in severe consequences for both the teacher and the student involved.

------------------
Given this social background, Yukino's relationship with a student in The Premonition is very problematic. What is interesting to me is that Yoshimoto does not make a moral judgement and leaves the evaluation of the relationship up to the reader. I think this method and its moral ambiguity has greater impact.
The Premonition was published in 1988 (jpn, 2023 eng). High & Dry. Primo amore was published in 2004 (jpn, ita, but no eng translation) and it represents another view by the author on the student teacher relationship and how it is managed by the characters. In both cases, it is likely to be the primo amore, first love, of the younger people.