![]() ![]() Yoshimoto captures with clarity Maria’s impressions and feelings, vividly rendering this particular phase of her life.Īn atmosphere of nostalgia envelops Maria and Tsugumi’s story, making certain scenes particularly bittersweet. Maria, who’s going to a university in Tokyo, decides to spend her summer with Tsugumi’s in her beloved village. Tsugumi’s prickliness stems partly from her frustration towards the mysterious malady she suffers from. In spite of their contrasting personalities, the bond between the two runs deep. The friendship between Maria and Tsugumi is the focus of this short novel. She truly conjures up Maria’s “little fishing town”, almost giving it an ethereal quality. Yoshimoto is particularly attuned to nature, noting the smell of the sea, raindrops, the sand. Maria’s feelings are rendered in a language that is both simple and lyrical, as Yoshimoto often juxtaposes Maria’s inner thoughts with ordinary details of her environment. ![]() Yoshimoto introduces us to her characters without preamble, offering little in terms of backstory, yet she’s quick to establish the dynamic between Maria and her capricious best friend Tsugumi. ![]() ![]() Written in her quietly poetic prose Goodbye Tsugumi is a novel that is light on the plot. Goodbye Tsugumi is the quintessence of Yoshimoto. “This story you’re reading contains my memories of the final visit I made to the seaside town where I passed my childhood-of my last summer at home.” ![]()
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