The Premonition

by Banana Yoshimoto

I had a premonition of setting out on a journey and getting lost inside a distant tide ... It was the beginning of summer, and I was nineteen years old.

Yayoi lives with her perfect, loving family - something 'like you'd see in a Spielberg movie'. But while her parents tell happy stories of her childhood, she is increasingly haunted by the sense that she's forgotten something important about her past.

Deciding to take a break, she goes to stay with her mysterious but beloved aunt Yukino, whose strange behaviour includes waking Yayoi at two in the morning to be her drinking companion, watching Friday the 13th repeatedly and throwing away all the things she wants to forget.

Living a life without order, Yukino seems to be protecting herself, but beneath this facade Yayoi starts to recover lost memories, and everything she knows about her past threatens to change forever.

Genres: Fiction, Japan, Japanese Literature, Contemporary, Asian Literature, Literary Fiction, Magical Realism

145 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 1988

About the author

Banana Yoshimoto (よしもと ばなな or 吉本 ばなな) is the pen name of Mahoko Yoshimoto (吉本 真秀子), a Japanese contemporary writer. She writes her name in hiragana. (See also 吉本芭娜娜 (Chinese).)

Along with having a famous father, poet Takaaki Yoshimoto, Banana's sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan. Growing up in a liberal family, she learned the value of independence from a young age.

She graduated from Nihon University's Art College, majoring in Literature. During that time, she took the pseudonym "Banana" after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous."

Despite her success, Yoshimoto remains a down-to-earth and obscure figure. Whenever she appears in public she eschews make-up and dresses simply. She keeps her personal life guarded, and reveals little about her certified Rolfing practitioner, Hiroyoshi Tahata and son (born in 2003). Instead, she talks about her writing. Each day she takes half an hour to write at her computer, and she says, "I tend to feel guilty because I write these stories almost for fun."

Reviews

[Liong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read her books such as :

Kitchen,
Asleep,
Goodbye Tsugami,
The Lake,
Lizard,
Hardboiled and Hard Luck,
Moshi Moshi,
Dead-End Memories: Stories and I just finished this book.

I love reading her novels that explore nature, life, and love.

Overall, The Premonition is a beautiful and moving story.

I hope you like it!

[Daniella · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

I was on board for the beginning but then we entered the Taboo Relationship Era with 1) a couple who were raised as brother and sister and 2) a teacher and student.

Wasn’t really a fan of the book supporting these forms of relationships as romantic love - and making it seem like the reader should be rooting for them - much less cause we were just told they loved each other and were perfect for each other and never really saw it.

It didn’t do enough other interesting stuff to make me forgive this, and while the premonition thing was neat it didn’t key in as much as I was hoping it would. The themes of found family and belonging were nice but wish they didn’t manifest in such icky relationships :S

[Jonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, fall is the time to get lost in the words of Banana Yoshimoto. The Premonition is her newest release and I bought it on its release day. It is a small volume and I choose to read a little each day to make it last.

Yoshimoto captures the feeling of being lost and living in two worlds. Not quite remembering your past, yet unsure of your present. The theme of taking off and taking space in order to come to terms with situations life throws at you is explored in several of her books. In The Premonition, the situation has to do with how family members reconnect and redefine their relationships after an old truth is revealed.

I liked all of the characters, their quirkiness and interactions. I liked how different family memories surfaced. The train ride and subsequent stay at the cabin were moving and memorable scenes. Reading Banana Yoshimoto is a wonderful escape. I highly recommend her books.

[marri౨ৎ‧₊˚. · Rating 2 out of 5]

the main character ends up with her adoptive brother and that's all you need to not read this 😀

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ½ stars

The Premonition is textbook Banana Yoshimoto: we have a lively yet inexplicably melancholic narrator prone to navel-gazing, character(s) with psychic abilities, domestic backdrops, and plenty of understated conversations which are often of an idiosyncratic realism while at other times they are of a more amorphous nature, their currents and logic closer to those of dreams.

Yayoi, the 19-year-old protagonist and narrator of The Premonition, has lately fallen into a strangely pensive mood as she feels that she has forgotten something important from her childhood. She moves in with her eccentric aunt, Yukino, a teacher who moves through life as though half-asleep. Despite her unusual ways, Yayoi finds her to be a comfort and soon seems to adjust to the rhythms of her aunt’s lifestyle. Although there are no huge family secrets that emerge during this time we (readers) learn more about Yayoi’s past and present circumstances, for instance, that she has been harboring more than brotherly feelings for her adopted brother. Yayoi’s aunt retains an aura of mystery, one that is intensified by her sudden disappearance. As Yayoi and her ‘brother’ set out to find her, their mutual feelings for each other come to the fore. The motif of the house, forbidden romance, as well as the nostalgic atmosphere created by the narrative’s focus on memory, childhood, and old secrets, made The Premonition something of a slice-of-life-cum-fairy-tale, a meeting point between humdrum reality and dreamspace. As much as I found myself lulled by Yayoi’s simple yet whimsical inner monologue, or amused by the characters' peculiar antics, the story’s romantic elements left a lot to be desired. Not only do we get an incest-y love story but we also have a side romance that is anything but romantic given that it involves grooming (yet this whole teacher-student dynamic is made to seem quirky). So, yeah...icky on multiple levels. Still, Yoshimoto's storytelling has this soothing quality to it that is hard to dislike, no matter how twee or yucky her stories may get. I ultimately found Yayoi's realizations on life, remembrance, and growing-up, to be comforting, and I liked the melancholic ambience of her story.
If you are, like me, a Yoshimoto fan, you'll likely enjoy The Premonition. If you happen to be on the fence about Yoshimoto, well, you might want to give this a miss given that The Premonition is typical Yoshimoto fare.

[Willow Heath]

Banana Yoshimoto is a revered mainstay of Japanese literature, her books cherished by readers around the world. Her 1988 literary novella The Premonition is a perfect example of why she is so beloved.

This 100-page book follows a teenager named Yayoi, who has lived in peace and bliss with her parents and brother for, as far as she knows, her whole life.

But she also has a wayward and free-spirited young aunt whom she often likes to sneak out and visit. This aunt, Yukino, is a music teacher who has lived alone and lived her own way for several years.

My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/japanese-lite...

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite Banana Yoshimoto novel - beautiful writing as always, but I couldn't quite get over the very taboo/inappropriate relationships explored.

[leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

tinted with tender melancholy, the premonition follows 19 year old yayoi, who lives with her perfect family yet is plagued by the thought that she has forgotten something important about her childhood. due to this premonition, yayoi moves in with her mysterious aunt in a quest to uncover her seemingly lost memories.

this novel mainly centres around family; the idea of what constitutes family, the concept of lost and found family. yayoi is struggling with the feeling of displacement in her family with her constant feeling that something is not quite right. just like a typical 19 year old (minus the slight clairvoyance), she is trying to figure out who she is, where she belongs, and where she came from.

the premonition contains depictions of taboo relationships that probably wouldn’t be found in fiction today, but it doesn’t seem done for the sake of shock value, more so to simply fit in with the underlying tone of unease and the conversations around the complexity of relationships/love that runs throughout the novel. i would be interested to find out how readers reacted to this element of the book when it was first released in japan in the 80s.

the premonition is a dreamy, strange, nostalgic little book, with a fluid translation / writing style which is easy to get lost in and read in one sitting.

thank you @faberbooks for the arc - the premonition is out in the uk now!

rating: 3.5

[Katey Flowers · Rating 1 out of 5]

How disappointing! I’ve loved the three other books by this author that I’ve read. This one could’ve been a lovely, moody reflection on family and memory.. But instead we got a not *technically* incest relationship AND a student teacher relationship. No thanks.

[John Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did as I liked my previous two books by Ms Yoshimoto, but it was an uneven story at best. Lovely writing, but just to many inconsistencies for me in the end. A novella really at around 100 pages. And by only the second Banana person I've known after the drummer for the Youngbloods back in the day. 3 stars.

[rachy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of Banana Yoshimoto’s novels, and until I checked my ratings just before writing this review, I was under the impression that they kind of fell all across the spectrum for me. However, they aren’t actually all over the map in the way I thought they were, in fact, I’ve actually only ever rated them either 2 or 5 stars. I may not have realised it, but I guess facts are facts and Yoshimoto is hit or miss for me, just to an unexpectedly extreme extent. Unfortunately, ‘The Premonition was firmly in the miss category for me, and can be safely added to the list of Yoshimoto’s novels that I just didn’t love.

This is maybe the most forgettable novel I’ve read in a while. It wasn’t even bad in a memorable way like those novels that suck in a way that compels you and lights some sort of fire within you (against it, but still). I just thought ‘The Premonition’ was utterly bland, from start to finish. The story itself was kind of whatever, the characters didn’t feel especially real or interesting and their relationships and interactions all felt too mechanical. Even the reveals that should have offered something more were done so understatedly they almost passed you by. The writing was easy and fluid with the occasional special insight, but otherwise didn’t (and probably couldn’t) elevate the dull content.

I’d kind of compare reading this novel to one of those slow rides in a children’s theme park, something that maybe goes slowly along a track or in a little boat through an “enchanted forest”, or something equally underwhelming. This might be because I read it on a plane, arguably therefore with no option but to continue reading. Maybe it’s just because of this, but it just felt like I was so tightly on these rails, following this path Yoshimoto had arbitrarily decided on with nothing tangible there to hold my interest there beyond that I was simply strapped in. No thrills, nothing specifically beautiful to look at, nothing to summon much emotion. There is a certain something to be said for this novel just being a bit too restrained in a way that is very culturally Japanese, and I’m not going to be upset with something for not being what it’s not able to be, but still, there just wasn’t enough for me here. I’m definitely hoping the next Yoshimoto I read will be more ‘Kitchen’ or ‘Asleep’ than this, from my past reading experience with her, statistically speaking, I’m due a 5 star from her anytime now.

[Kamila Kunda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Banana Yoshimoto’s novels are for me akin to dreams. With very precise, simple language she paints pictures I can so easily visualise that it feels like I am dreaming her books. More so because her stories are very subtle and the emotions she outlines - elusive and transient.

“The Premonition” is structured around teenage Yayoi, who has a tendency to run away from home (loving parents and a brother) to process things. She has a special bond with her slightly older aunt but she feels there is something about her past which she cannot grasp but which impacts her life in a mysterious way. As she uncovers the mystery, her life and her relationships with those close to her will change forever.

I adore Yoshimoto’s characters, in every book by her I have read, because they have the courage to take breaks from life. They drop out of school, quit jobs, travel spontaneously, run away to reconnect with themselves. In the mildest acts of rebellion they stay up late, drink coffee at 2am at the kitchen table and have meaningful conversations with those with whom they live. I relate to it so much that I usually try to read Yoshimoto’s novels late in the evening or at night, to better get into the mood and to be alert to every nuance and every fleeting sensation she describes.

For me “The Premonition” is like revisiting a dream I used to have or like watching a new episode of my favourite TV series, where there is drama, love, loss, all sprinkled with mystery and wrapped tightly in nostalgia and melancholy. Some people come back to Haruki Murakami’s novel for that feel-good experience, I return to Banana Yoshimoto.

[Matthew Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

4th book of 2024.

2.5. A strange little book from Yoshimoto centred around a girl who has 'premonitions'; but despite this interesting launchpad, it never materialises as a plot point and feels wasted. The relationships involved are also a little odd. I can't say much without revealing the little story this novella has, which is down to a family secret being uncovered. I read it almost cover-to-cover on my morning commute yesterday, finishing it in the city, walking and reading, as I do, with my fingers numb as anything.

[Octavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“All I Had to Do Was Come Back . . .”

From Curiosity to Wonderment 🪷


Excerpts:
I had a premonition of setting out on a Journey and getting lost inside a distant tide as the sun went down, ending up far, far away from where I started.”

“I felt vulnerable. Like a traveler far from home, I lost touch with the security of feeling that I could stay right where I was.”

“She’s a princess asleep in an old castle where time’s stopped, clinging to dreams of a lost dynasty, I thought. She was the only one left who knew its glory, and her heart belonged to it. What a prideful way to live! What was this thing that held her in its ruthless clutches like a deadly disease?

[erigibbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yayoi è una diciannovenne inquieta. C’è qualcosa, un rumore di fondo, che la disturba. Facciamo anche fatica a capire esattamente quale sia il problema visto che la sua è una famiglia felice. I genitori si amano, e amano i loro due figli, Yayoi e Tetsuo, che a loro volta vanno molto d’accordo sia tra loro che con i genitori.

Per quanto normale sia l’esistenza di Yayoi, al tempo stesso non lo è. Fin da piccola è stata caratterizzata da dei poteri strani, paranormali, come la capacità di vedere cose successe nel passato, o sapere chi sta chiamando a casa in quel dato momento.

“[…] Era come vivere sempre con il sole di mezzanotte. Senza limiti, trovando la serenità soltanto dentro noi stessi, senza mai sapere che cosa sarebbe accaduto l’indomani. Ancora adesso, non riesco a dimenticarlo. Mi è rimasto dentro per tutti questi anni, come una maledizione, o una benedizione.”

Yayoi decide di cercare delle risposte a casa della zia, un’insegnante di musica molto brava nel suo lavoro, quanto indisciplinata nel tenere in ordinare la propria casa, il proprio giardino, la propria esistenza.

E forse è proprio per questo che Yayoi si trova così bene con lei, con la sua confusione e il suo disordine. O forse si trova così bene perché la zia rappresenta le risposte che a Yayoi mancano.

Mi sembrò di aver colto per la prima volta in lei una debolezza come essere umano, e ciò mi addolorò un poco. Distogliere lo sguardo dalle cose che le facevano paura, da quelle sgradevoli o che potevano ferirla, era il suo modo di fare.

Leggendo Presagio triste di Banana Yoshimoto ho sempre percepito questa malinconia di fondo; malinconia dovuta a una mancanza. A Yayoi non mancano solo dei ricordi, non mancano solo delle risposte, manca qualcosa e manca qualcuno. È come se percepisse l’assenza di quello che poteva essere e che non è stato. E questa mancanza, questa assenza, l’ho percepita anch’io, semplice lettrice e spettatrice della sua storia.

Sebbene abbia continuato a percepire queste emozioni fino alla fine, devo dire che nelle ultime pagine ho cominciato a percepire anche speranza da parte della protagonista, forse perché quel qualcosa è stato ritrovato. Non tutto, non in modo completo, ma qualcosa.

Banana Yoshimoto ha trattato ancora una volta temi delicati come la perdita, la morte, e anche l’amore. Temi delicati trattati a sua volta con delicatezza, con eleganza, con semplicità, ma senza risultare banale. È un modo diverso, più fragile se vogliamo, di parlare di tematiche di cui non tutti sanno scrivere in modo adeguato.

Presagio triste è stata una lettura piacevole, anche poco impegnativa, grazie allo stile dell’autrice che rende tutto più semplice, leggero e decisamente poetico.

[Lorena ♡ (semi-ia) · Rating 3 out of 5]

lately, i've been waking up an hour or two earlier than i need to, but i fall asleep again almost immediately. in this "second sleep", i tend to have very odd dreams that leave me wondering how my brain is coming up with them and what i'll dream the next day... this book felt like one of those dreams.

[spillingthematcha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mam dość sprzeczne emocje - z jednej strony brakowało mi właśnie takiego zaangażowania w historię, ale z drugiej była to bardzo dobrze napisana książka.

[Mike Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call me shallow if you want. But pulling this book from the holiday apartment library was driven by the size (small) and authors name - Banana. I had also grabbed a Conn Iggulden.

Previously the only Japanese author I had read was Yukio Mishima. But I enjoyed this book. It was a simple couple of hours amongst coffee and Madeiran cakes. Very restful and dare I say relaxing.

Story of a young girl - Yayoi - with early powers of sensing premonitions living with her parents and brother. But all is not as it seems and her journey to meet her Aunt illuminates the past. And in losing the past she comes to terms with the present.

The writing is lyrical and poignant:

‘The wind picked up. Darkness overtook the sky like a slow velvet curtain falling, and the stars started to twinkle; first one, then another, and another.’

An author I will look out for. Being shallow paid off for me.

But now to a Conn Iggulden…hopefully one that Clemens hasn’t yet got to😉

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

this is so hard!!!! i actually really liked the nostalgic, hazy environment yoshimoto took us to and the writing itself was so clear and lovely. the story is imbued with classic japanese tropes and qualities that remind me of murakami and mishima’s stories involving self-introspection and physical journeys, which i always love. howeverrrr i really do not enjoy the but-is-it-really-incest and i’m-basically-not-their-student-anymore-but-i-still-am tropes….URGHHHHHH

[Bella Azam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Premonition is a beautiful tale of finding love and family, retracing the lost past and seek the familiarity. Like the title, our main girl Yayoi seems to have an ability or a premonition of things that happened in her life. She was very sensitive spiritually as she had these premonition of past lifes and the future. Living in a blessed happy family of four, Yukino felt something was missing in part of her childhood and its connected to her young aunt. She came to stay with het aunt in hoping to find some answers.

What sparked from the sleepover turns into a journey of rediscovering life, to engage in conversations buried in past,to confront with hidden emotions and feelings. The subtle muted tone of this story captivated me from beginning to end. I love the simplicity of it, the lightness in narrative, the sort of dreamlike quality it haves. It buoyed you along with the waves of nostalgia and rush of calmness, it evokes sense of security and comfort. Yoshimoto's excellence in capturing the subtle loneliness speaks something to my heart.

Although, there are some issues with the potrayal of a very questionable theme which would be frowned upon now, I like thid book for how simple it is. Probably not the best of her work but still a solid one.

Its a slow, muted story with hearts and family at its centre.

Thank you so much to Counterpoint Press and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

“I'd seen for myself how fate worked. And yet nothing had been taken away, only given. I hadn't lost my aunt and my brother-no, by taking matters into my own hands, I'd discovered my sister, and my sweetheart.”

Oh hell noooooo.
Could’ve been actually interesting, if not for the incest plot.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Premonition is a beautiful book that you can read in an afternoon, curled up with a blanket and a hot drink of your choice.

It tells the story of Yanoi, who lives with her parents and brother. She also has an aunt, Yukino, who lives not too far away, a character I was instantly drawn to as a single woman, living alone, who practically lives in her pyjamas! Yanoi begins to feel that there are elements of her childhood that she hasn't fully remembered, and feels drawn to visit her aunt one day. What follows will change the shape of Yanoi's future.

I don't know what it is about Japanese translated fiction that just absorbs me right into its pages. The beauty of this novella is that whilst it is succinct, it still holds wonderful descriptions of Yanoi's surroundings, including the weather, city streets and starry skies. It involves only a handful of characters, which helps to maintain its neatness. It never wanders from its narrative path, keeping us focused on Yanoi's journey of discovery and emotion.

A beautifully concise story of familial love in its many different forms.

[Quill&Queer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't care if they're not biologically related, that is still incest. This book didn't really do much, except tell us that having an aunt who's a teacher in a relationship with her student is very cool and quirky. Writing was decent but the author's husband is into pseudoscience. Lots to think about.

[میعاد · Rating 2 out of 5]

بعضی کتاب‌ها رو هیچ‌جوره نمی‌تونم درک کنم🙂

[Ana9_8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizarre and beautifully written

[nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦.”

Written the same year as Kitchen, this is an oddball publication with its unconventional romance, but maintains the same thematic leanings and carries the same charms of Yoshimoto’s style.

She does it so well, the departure into the liminal, sitting within in-between spaces to evoke her usual brand of loneliness is soft, sad, and sweet. There’s a delicacy to the way she approaches grief and loss. An emptiness exists within all of her characters and all they want to do is fill themselves with love, of any kind. It’s desperate, guilty of being too much, but necessary the same way hunger stilts shakes in our fingers and anger in our appetite.

[LettriceAssorta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Salve a tutti! Oggi vi parlerò di Presagio Triste di Banana Yoshimoto. Il libro narra la storia di una ragazza di nome Yayoi, dall'indole introspettiva e perspicace. Fin dall'infanzia Yayoi dimostra di avere una capacità intuitiva che rasenta la chiaroveggenza anche se con il tempo questa attitudine sembra affievolirsi. Yayoi vive con gli amorevoli genitori e con il fratello maggiore Tetsuo (Questi nomi giapponesi mi mandano al manicomio!). La vita sembra scorrere in maniera felice e pacifica fino a quando, tornata nella sua casa appena ristrutturata, la giovane comincia ad avvertire una senso di tristezza e a percepire un ricordo che sembra voler riaffiorare ma che rimane sempre sotto la coltre della consapevolezza cosciente. Comincia così il viaggio di Yayoi alla scoperta di se. Un viaggio spirituale e non che la porterà a riappropriarsi delle sue vere origini.



Yayoi non ha nessun ricordo della sua infanzia, né nella memoria e né negli album di fotografie. Inizialmente sembra aver accettato questa sua condizione come ineluttabile e cerca di colmare queste lacune con i racconti dei genitori. Successivamente l'ombra della malinconia comincia ad insinuarsi dentro di lei e a squarciare quella nube di incertezza che la attanaglia. Piano piano i ricordi cominciano a riaffiorare, ma sono incerti e apparentemente contraddittori...

Questo romanzo si distingue soprattutto per l'elemento paesaggistico  che non si limita a fare da cornice alla storia ma, al contrario, costituisce un ruolo da protagonista assoluto: il cielo, l'erba del prato, la pioggia, sono in continuo movimento nei colori e nelle forme e rispecchiano lo stato d'animo dei personaggi.  "Quel presagio assomigliava molto al tramonto autunnale. Mi sembrava che i raggi del sole calante mi colpissero in fondo al cuore". 

Interessanti i riferimenti alla cultura giapponese. In particolare sono rimasta colpita da come viene utilizzata la vasca da bagno dai personaggi del libro.  Nel bagno tradizionale giapponese infatti, ci si immerge nell'acqua calda dopo essersi lavati all'esterno della vasca. Di solito i membri di una famiglia si immergono nella stessa acqua, che si mantiene calda coprendo la vasca con delle assi di legno. A me fa un pochino ribrezzo ma come dice il detto, paese che vai, usanza che trovi!

Yayoi vive sospesa tra la realtà e una dimensione quasi soprannaturale. In tutto il libro si respira un senso di precarietà, di disastro imminente. La ragazza percepisce che ci sono parti di se' che non riesce ad afferrare. Quando l'argine creato per respingere i ricordi dolorosi s'incrina, comincia la disgregazione delle certezze sulle quali era fondata la sua vita. Questo però, invece di crearle disagio, costituisce la molla che le consente di superare quel velo di malinconia che la avviluppa e di proiettarla verso un'esistenza più piena e soddisfacente, dove diventare  consapevole delle sue scelte. Infatti è Yayoi stessa che nel romanzo afferma e cito testualmente: "non c'è nulla che sarebbe meglio non venire mai a sapere. Ne sono profondamente convinta". 

Ho letto questo libro piacevolmente. Ne ho apprezzato le atmosfere e le ambientazioni. Alcuni passaggi però, mi hanno turbata alquanto. Non ho condiviso del tutto certe opzioni adottate sulla dinamica del racconto. (Attenzione Spoiler in arrivo)

La scelta della scrittrice di far innamorare Yayoi di Tetsuo una volta capito che in realtà non è suo fratello, non solo non mi è piaciuta ma mi ha inquietata alquanto. Sebbene una tardiva agnizione ha portato la protagonista a capire la verità sulla sua famiglia, faccio fatica a concepire come si possa tramutare l'amore fraterno in amore di altro genere, così, all'improvviso.  Evidentemente Banana Yoshimoto la pensa diversamente.

Tutto sommato, credo che la storia non sia un granché, non ci sono colpi di scena, non succede praticamente nulla, piuttosto s' inserisce in un contesto descrittivo reso in modo alquanto poetico. Penso che la forza di quest'autrice, infatti, stia nella sua capacità di rappresentazione, nell'estrema introspezione e nelle narrazioni paesaggistiche rese in maniera elegiaca anche se talvolta estremamente struggente. Tutto il romanzo è imbevuto di una sottile tristezza che aleggia su tutto e tutti fino al finale, impreziosito da una descrizione del cielo quasi lirica.

Buona lettura

La Lettrice Assorta
only on
www.ilviziodileggereblog.wordpress.com

[Henk · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting start involving a girl having premonitions doesn’t develop further into a fully satisfying story. The inflexion points one lives through in youth are well captured.
It’s kind of tragic, I thought, how we can never completely escape our childhoods.

I was definitely not as impressed as after reading Kitchen, but Banana Yoshimoto takes on a lot of interesting themes in this novella.
Starting of with Yayoi, who is 19 on her visit to aunt Yukino, The Premonition starts of innocent enough. The youngest sibling of her mother is described in a typical teenager ways as old: She was thirty, but single, and had lived alone for a long time. Yukino is a music teacher and eccentric in terms of lack of household skills and doing her work in her own way.
Then we have Tetsuo, an one year younger brother.
And troubling flashbacks which seem rooted in historical truth, which seem to imply Yayoi has psychic powers.

This concept is unfortunately not taken further, but an odyssey unfurls and family secrets come out. I found the relationships that seem central to the book both a bit icky, which I guess elevates the story above the cosy fiction genre that now seems to make out the most of the translated Japanese literature available in stores. In terms of narrative arc this book feels a bit slice-of-life like. It feels like a melancholic intermezzo and I actually had wanted the book was a bit longer and developed some of the character lines further, as there is a lot to unpick.

Quotes:
Yes, it was a little like living in the Moomin Valley, where the sun never sets.

You can buy stuff in any store, and coming up with an excuse is like picking out a star in the sky.

People keep coming out of the woodwork like it’s some kind of detective novel. We could have a murder on our hands soon.

It’s really true, I thought. It’s always better to know than not know.

[Leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This has spoilers but I need you to read this anyway because for some reason almost no review seems critical enough to notice the core thesis of the book.

This book thinks being a grown woman grooming teenagers makes you quirky.

It's such a nothing book. I'll be generous since it was translated, but the dialogue is stilted and unnatural, and the prose tries really hard to be whimsical but fails due to the subject matter. They try so hard to make you feel like the aunt is fun and zany, but she's literally just a weird child abuser.

The adoptive incest was just silly. You don't learn your brother isn't blood related to you and instantly fall in love with him lol. People praising this probably think anything that brings up taboos is inherently meaningful, but I just found it all rather poorly thought out.

Like no ma'am, have a baby with a high schooler isn't the bad part, the whole sexually engaging a minor part is.

The book pretends to question the nature of relationships, but all it really says is that both of these blood sisters have really bad, even criminal, taste in boys.

I'm not one to think taboos in fiction make a book bad, but this was just terrible. Short as it was, a child meandering about how she gets her "aunt" is into teens and how it's okay she wants her brother because she learnt they're not related today is just unserious.

[Sarah ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Premonition - Banana Yoshimoto


"It’s kind of tragic, I thought, how we can never completely escape our childhoods."

يختصر هذا الإقتباس قصة هذه النوفيلا، البطلة مراهقة غريبة أطوار تهرب دائمًا من المنزل لقضاء بعض الوقت لدى الأصدقاء ولكن هذه المرة تهرب لمنزل عمتها، وهي إمرأة أخرى موصومة بغرابة الأطوار في العائلة لديها طقوسها الخاصة.
لا تنفك البطلة تفكر بأن هناك ما نسيته في وقت ما، إحساس غامض بشيء مفقود، حدث من الماضي ربما....
الهاجس هو عنوان النوفيلا، وهي نوفيلا دافئة وغريبة مع نفحة من خوارق الطبيعة وليست أفضل ما قرأت لبنانا يوشيموتو لكنها كانت قراءة قصيرة ولطيفة عمومًا...