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Second Hand Love
In the end, we're all the same…we just want to be smothered like babies against another
human's beating heart
Through a cracked door, heartsick Emi hears a playful growl. Cautiously, she lets her lover in―a wolf of a man wielding a bouquet of roses. His shoulders must have been four inches wider than mine. As I stood behind him, I fantasized about the broadness of his chest and the thickness of his neck...and about becoming his mistress once again.
And so their story goes. For a young woman interested in love without the hassle of a traditional relationship, an affair with someone else’s spoiled husband is just what she ordered―until it's time to move on.
Then there’s with even less time for married men's shenanigans, she turns her attention to her aging father and the guilt of adultery that has gnawed at his heart for years. Her mother is long dead, yet her memory is enshrined for eternity in their―both father’s and daughter's―mirrored indiscretions.
Drawn soon after the critically-acclaimed Talk to My Back , the two stories in Second Hand Love mark the triumphant return of Yamada Murasaki, one of literary manga's most respected feminist voices. Translated by noted historian Ryan Holmberg, this edition includes an interview with the artist from the height of her career in 1985, where her wit and wisdom are on shimmering display.
human's beating heart
Through a cracked door, heartsick Emi hears a playful growl. Cautiously, she lets her lover in―a wolf of a man wielding a bouquet of roses. His shoulders must have been four inches wider than mine. As I stood behind him, I fantasized about the broadness of his chest and the thickness of his neck...and about becoming his mistress once again.
And so their story goes. For a young woman interested in love without the hassle of a traditional relationship, an affair with someone else’s spoiled husband is just what she ordered―until it's time to move on.
Then there’s with even less time for married men's shenanigans, she turns her attention to her aging father and the guilt of adultery that has gnawed at his heart for years. Her mother is long dead, yet her memory is enshrined for eternity in their―both father’s and daughter's―mirrored indiscretions.
Drawn soon after the critically-acclaimed Talk to My Back , the two stories in Second Hand Love mark the triumphant return of Yamada Murasaki, one of literary manga's most respected feminist voices. Translated by noted historian Ryan Holmberg, this edition includes an interview with the artist from the height of her career in 1985, where her wit and wisdom are on shimmering display.
228 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1984
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292 people want to read
About the author
Murasaki Yamada
8 books18 followersMurasaki Yamada (やまだ 紫, Yamada Murasaki), born Mitsuko Yamada (1948–2009) was a Japanese cartoonist, essayist and poet. She is considered a pioneer of literary comics, especially from a female perspective. Her work offered realistic portraits of women negotiating complicated family situations and social responsibilities.
With a background in design, Yamada debuted in comics in 1969 with a story published in Osamu Tezuka's magazine 'COM'. Soon after that, she became a leading voice in the avantgarde manga magazine 'Garo'. Her manga work appeared in almost every issue of Garo from 1978 to 1986.
Translations of Murasaki's books outside of Japan began to be released only many years after the author's death in 2009. Among her works available in English are Talk to My Back (1981-1984) and Second Hand Love (1986-1987).
NB: in foreign editions of her books, her pen name has been sometimes westernised as 'Murasaki Yamada' (surname first), other times as 'Yamada Murasaki' (last name first, as per Japanese convention).
With a background in design, Yamada debuted in comics in 1969 with a story published in Osamu Tezuka's magazine 'COM'. Soon after that, she became a leading voice in the avantgarde manga magazine 'Garo'. Her manga work appeared in almost every issue of Garo from 1978 to 1986.
Translations of Murasaki's books outside of Japan began to be released only many years after the author's death in 2009. Among her works available in English are Talk to My Back (1981-1984) and Second Hand Love (1986-1987).
NB: in foreign editions of her books, her pen name has been sometimes westernised as 'Murasaki Yamada' (surname first), other times as 'Yamada Murasaki' (last name first, as per Japanese convention).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 12, 2024
In two short stories, twentysomething women have affairs with slightly older married men. The stories are a little too slow, a little too whiny, and a little too similar, but somehow they still work, drawing me in with their character studies and leaving me invested in following the winding trails to their eventual destinations.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents:
• A Blue Flame (a/k/a "A Shimmering Pale Color," "ゆらりうす色," or "Yurari Usuiro." Originally serialized in Comic Morning between June 1983 and May 1984.)
• Second Hand Love (Originally serialized in Comic Baku between Spring 1986 and Spring 1987)
• A Loving Family (Illustrations for the 1997 novel, A Loving Family / 恋する家族, by author Mita Masahiro.)
• A Fondness for Corners: An Interview with Yamada Murasaki (Originally published in Advertising Review / Kōkoku hihyō in March 1985.)
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents:
• A Blue Flame (a/k/a "A Shimmering Pale Color," "ゆらりうす色," or "Yurari Usuiro." Originally serialized in Comic Morning between June 1983 and May 1984.)
• Second Hand Love (Originally serialized in Comic Baku between Spring 1986 and Spring 1987)
• A Loving Family (Illustrations for the 1997 novel, A Loving Family / 恋する家族, by author Mita Masahiro.)
• A Fondness for Corners: An Interview with Yamada Murasaki (Originally published in Advertising Review / Kōkoku hihyō in March 1985.)
November 20, 2024
The first story in this collection, A Blue Flame, is about a young woman (Emi) and her relationship with a married man. Her story unfolds in six-page atmospheric slice-of-life vignettes. Most scenes depict intimate moments she spends with her lover in her apartment reflecting on their "relationship" , adultery, love, and her conflicting emotions in a non-sentimental way. Emi is a confident young woman who is refreshingly unapologetic about her life choices.
A Blue Flame is sort of a counterpart to Talk to my Back. In the interview in the back of the book, Murasaki talks about how she wanted to "imagine things from the 'other woman's' perspective", and how she started from a position of jealousy, only to discover how easy it was for her to identify with Emi. Second Hand Love was simply excellent, both stories in this collection are. I fell in love with Murasaki's art. Her delicate, elegant lines with contrasting blotches of black really pop on the crispy white pages. And the overall design of the book is just lovely. Apparently Murasaki published manga in nearly every issue of Garo from 1978 t0 1986, so I'm hoping we'll see more of her work translated in English.
A Blue Flame is sort of a counterpart to Talk to my Back. In the interview in the back of the book, Murasaki talks about how she wanted to "imagine things from the 'other woman's' perspective", and how she started from a position of jealousy, only to discover how easy it was for her to identify with Emi. Second Hand Love was simply excellent, both stories in this collection are. I fell in love with Murasaki's art. Her delicate, elegant lines with contrasting blotches of black really pop on the crispy white pages. And the overall design of the book is just lovely. Apparently Murasaki published manga in nearly every issue of Garo from 1978 t0 1986, so I'm hoping we'll see more of her work translated in English.
December 11, 2024
Second Hand Love is the second collection of Yamada Murasaki's manga translated into English by Ryan Holmberg and published by Drawn & Quarterly. Originally serialized as short episodic pieces in various publications in the '80s, these stories would later be published as two broader stories which are how they are presented here as "A Blue Flame" and "Second Hand Love".
Similar to the previous translated Murasaki book, Talk to My Back, infidelity, frustration and isolation remain core themes. With Talk to My Back, Murasaki explored a housewife's experiences with her unfaithful husband, but in the first story in this collection, we follow the perspective of a mistress. "Blue Flame" is about a young woman, Emi, who navigates the confusing circumstances of being the "other woman" in a relationship. Her own value is something she routinely questions, particularly when the man she's grown to love always slips out at night to return to his family. With "A Blue Flame", Emi is alienated a lot, as she simply goes from her cushy office job to home and back, with the only hint of excitement coming from the affair she's having. Murasaki explores this well with the artwork alone - Emi's apartment is sparsely decorated with tons of negative space used to explore this. There are hints towards Emi's fraying mental state with unkempt portions of the house shown, but Murasaki's clean lines provide an elegance to this to demonstrate Emi's persistence. We first meet Emi when she's willing to delude herself into thinking her affair with the married man can blossom into a permanent relationship, but as the episodes progress, this enchantment begins to fade. It's quaintly put by Emi herself: "When sex dispels illusions...they are illusions best dispelled."
The second story here is the titular "Second Hand Love", which also focuses on the mistress of a married man. Similar to Emi, Yuko's relationship is built upon a deep sense of loneliness. Yuko often reflects on her own father who cheated on her mother, which she acknowledges as the reason for her own strained relationships with men. The idea that people can be lonely within the context of a typical nuclear family is brought back again (explored heavily in Talk to My Back), with Yuko even ruminating - "despite being surrounded by family, they realize that they are essentially alone." It's an engaging exploration of the crippling isolation that enforced cultural norms can have on people, and both stories here do a great job with it.
This type of brutally honest storytelling is perhaps more commonplace in contemporary literature focused on societal analysis, but Murasaki doing this kind of interpretation through a feminist lens has to be seen as much more revolutionary. I liked Talk to My Back, but I enjoyed this collection even more. Murasaki's graceful artwork compounds the themes of loneliness throughout, making this a mournful read. It is with Emi and Yuko achieving some sense of actualization by the end of each of their respective narratives that leaves the reader with some hope that even loneliness can come to an end.
Similar to the previous translated Murasaki book, Talk to My Back, infidelity, frustration and isolation remain core themes. With Talk to My Back, Murasaki explored a housewife's experiences with her unfaithful husband, but in the first story in this collection, we follow the perspective of a mistress. "Blue Flame" is about a young woman, Emi, who navigates the confusing circumstances of being the "other woman" in a relationship. Her own value is something she routinely questions, particularly when the man she's grown to love always slips out at night to return to his family. With "A Blue Flame", Emi is alienated a lot, as she simply goes from her cushy office job to home and back, with the only hint of excitement coming from the affair she's having. Murasaki explores this well with the artwork alone - Emi's apartment is sparsely decorated with tons of negative space used to explore this. There are hints towards Emi's fraying mental state with unkempt portions of the house shown, but Murasaki's clean lines provide an elegance to this to demonstrate Emi's persistence. We first meet Emi when she's willing to delude herself into thinking her affair with the married man can blossom into a permanent relationship, but as the episodes progress, this enchantment begins to fade. It's quaintly put by Emi herself: "When sex dispels illusions...they are illusions best dispelled."
The second story here is the titular "Second Hand Love", which also focuses on the mistress of a married man. Similar to Emi, Yuko's relationship is built upon a deep sense of loneliness. Yuko often reflects on her own father who cheated on her mother, which she acknowledges as the reason for her own strained relationships with men. The idea that people can be lonely within the context of a typical nuclear family is brought back again (explored heavily in Talk to My Back), with Yuko even ruminating - "despite being surrounded by family, they realize that they are essentially alone." It's an engaging exploration of the crippling isolation that enforced cultural norms can have on people, and both stories here do a great job with it.
This type of brutally honest storytelling is perhaps more commonplace in contemporary literature focused on societal analysis, but Murasaki doing this kind of interpretation through a feminist lens has to be seen as much more revolutionary. I liked Talk to My Back, but I enjoyed this collection even more. Murasaki's graceful artwork compounds the themes of loneliness throughout, making this a mournful read. It is with Emi and Yuko achieving some sense of actualization by the end of each of their respective narratives that leaves the reader with some hope that even loneliness can come to an end.
February 8, 2025
7/10
Yamada's comics from the 80's are reflexive portraits of young (but not too young) women, told in first person, and with just a little touch of poetic pedantry. The stories are compositions of extremely short episodes, like quick glimpses in the lives and mental processes of the given protagonist.
The two stories collected in this tome focus on women having affairs with married men, and the stratified disillusion they have with the whole romantic relation thing.
In A Blue Flame (1984) the protagonist Emi moves from one philosophical maxim to another, while slowly realising that her married boyfriend is more a tool to get some warmth than a real significative entity in her life. In Second Hand Love (1986) the protagonist Yuko does not even need to process her emotions to get to that realisation, she is one step beyond, bitch already knows. But reflecting about her relation with her lover she learns to cope with her own father's story of infidelity towards her mother.
Yamada's women are well-rounded, pretty realistic characters, with their human qualities and their contradictions. Interestingly, they seem to show more genuine empathy towards the wifes they are stealing the husbands from than for the male lovers themselves, rarely more than meat hug cushions. I read that I am supposed to consider this book as an instance of feminist graphic literature, and if that is the case...mmmhh, I don't know man... Bah, forget about it.
Visually, this book is great. Yamada's minimalistic style is much elegant, I spent most of my week admiring it. The mimic of the characters is gracious. Convincingly draw people and their feelings with just a line or a whited-out face is a trick not any cartoonist can pull.
Overall I enjoyed this read.
Yamada's comics from the 80's are reflexive portraits of young (but not too young) women, told in first person, and with just a little touch of poetic pedantry. The stories are compositions of extremely short episodes, like quick glimpses in the lives and mental processes of the given protagonist.
The two stories collected in this tome focus on women having affairs with married men, and the stratified disillusion they have with the whole romantic relation thing.
In A Blue Flame (1984) the protagonist Emi moves from one philosophical maxim to another, while slowly realising that her married boyfriend is more a tool to get some warmth than a real significative entity in her life. In Second Hand Love (1986) the protagonist Yuko does not even need to process her emotions to get to that realisation, she is one step beyond, bitch already knows. But reflecting about her relation with her lover she learns to cope with her own father's story of infidelity towards her mother.
Yamada's women are well-rounded, pretty realistic characters, with their human qualities and their contradictions. Interestingly, they seem to show more genuine empathy towards the wifes they are stealing the husbands from than for the male lovers themselves, rarely more than meat hug cushions. I read that I am supposed to consider this book as an instance of feminist graphic literature, and if that is the case...mmmhh, I don't know man... Bah, forget about it.
Visually, this book is great. Yamada's minimalistic style is much elegant, I spent most of my week admiring it. The mimic of the characters is gracious. Convincingly draw people and their feelings with just a line or a whited-out face is a trick not any cartoonist can pull.
Overall I enjoyed this read.
December 1, 2024
Second Hand Love offers a pair of slow-moving stories about women in adulterous relationships. The "love" is presented without judgement, which is just about the only interesting thing in either of these stories. These women are simply interested in men who have wives. So what? They're fine with it, why aren't you?
The light manga linework is pleasant and the two tales flow effortlessly from vague beginning to uncertain end. Second Hand Love is the definition of "slice of life." Just happens to be adulterous life.
The light manga linework is pleasant and the two tales flow effortlessly from vague beginning to uncertain end. Second Hand Love is the definition of "slice of life." Just happens to be adulterous life.
July 14, 2025
this should probably be more of a 3.5 - 3.75ish but the art bumps it up to a 4 star for me. I just love murasaki yamada's illustrations and the general quiet + melancholic feeling that permeates her works.
this one definitely won't be for everyone, as both stories are about mistresses and their thoughts on the affairs they are currently partaking in. both women are largely unapologetic about what they're doing, and there's not some big comeuppance for their bad behavior. there's rumination on relationships between men and women (keeping in mind this was written in the 1980s), about marriage in general, about society and what's expected of women. it's all very low-key and thoughtful. I just really love being in these quiet pages, seeing how these women work and how they act in their relationships. it doesn't hurt that there's a lot of great 80s fashion in these stories, either!
I'm very glad Drawn & Quarterly has chosen to license these, and always appreciate the informed essays included at the end that help contextualize the mangaka's career, the publishing industry at the time she was working, and what Japanese society was like in general when these were being published. it always gives me a lot to think on and brings another layer to the manga and just generally makes for a very well-rounded and engaging reading experience.
this one definitely won't be for everyone, as both stories are about mistresses and their thoughts on the affairs they are currently partaking in. both women are largely unapologetic about what they're doing, and there's not some big comeuppance for their bad behavior. there's rumination on relationships between men and women (keeping in mind this was written in the 1980s), about marriage in general, about society and what's expected of women. it's all very low-key and thoughtful. I just really love being in these quiet pages, seeing how these women work and how they act in their relationships. it doesn't hurt that there's a lot of great 80s fashion in these stories, either!
I'm very glad Drawn & Quarterly has chosen to license these, and always appreciate the informed essays included at the end that help contextualize the mangaka's career, the publishing industry at the time she was working, and what Japanese society was like in general when these were being published. it always gives me a lot to think on and brings another layer to the manga and just generally makes for a very well-rounded and engaging reading experience.
February 28, 2025
(3.0) Two stories reveal the realities of two mistresses and the cheating husbands. The transparency behind each side’s motive is different the overall goal is escapism and loneliness. However, it’s the mistresses in these narratives that grow weary of the cheating husbands and ultimately move choosing themselves.
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March 25, 2025I read Talk to My Back earlier this year and enjoyed it immensely. This one I am less keen on. These are shorts following a character named Emi as she navigates her emotions and feelings while in a relationship with a married man. Essentially thoughts and reflections on cheating -- the misery you sign yourself up for. I didn't have much sympathy for any characters and could not relate, thank god. Still, I do love Yamada Murasaki's art style, use of white space, and page compositions.
August 25, 2024
A little hard to follow, but that's what happens when you're reading a true-to-life story!
December 6, 2025
2.5 stars
This was a literary manga featuring two stories about young mistresses having affairs with slightly older married men, translated to English. I found the simple line drawings very fitting for the isolation and seemingly lonely lives that the two women lead. While they were well drawn, I found the male characters hard to distinguish between each other so it was, at times, hard to follow what the story was. The story itself was so slow and drawn out. These women didn’t seem to have any personality besides pining for when her lover was going to come by and, without them, there was nothing of value in their own lives - particularly in the first of the two stories.
Not having been familiar with the author/artist beforehand, I was a bit surprised to see her being touted as “one of literary manga’s most respected feminist voices”, given how her female characters are depicted and the comments from men (albeit maybe slightly lost in translation and it was a different time) were a bit questionable.
This was a literary manga featuring two stories about young mistresses having affairs with slightly older married men, translated to English. I found the simple line drawings very fitting for the isolation and seemingly lonely lives that the two women lead. While they were well drawn, I found the male characters hard to distinguish between each other so it was, at times, hard to follow what the story was. The story itself was so slow and drawn out. These women didn’t seem to have any personality besides pining for when her lover was going to come by and, without them, there was nothing of value in their own lives - particularly in the first of the two stories.
Not having been familiar with the author/artist beforehand, I was a bit surprised to see her being touted as “one of literary manga’s most respected feminist voices”, given how her female characters are depicted and the comments from men (albeit maybe slightly lost in translation and it was a different time) were a bit questionable.
December 28, 2024
I've seen this SO many times at Kinokuniya, but I've hesitated to pick it up because I'm not easily impressed with short stories. I was scared that the short stories would be really dull, but I found out it was just two stories, her illustrations, and an interview. I ended up buying it, and I enjoyed it! Her work reminds me of Annie Ernaux's short memoirs. She talks about loneliness in relationships, specifically affairs, and how these kinds of relationships don't bring anything beneficial besides long-term grief. The stories made me reflect on the relationships I've seen around me and made me so sad! I can't wait to read more of her work.
October 25, 2024
Not quite as mind-blowingly awesome as "Talk to my back", but still very good. It's also an excellent mirror piece to it, collecting stories of mistresses and their fraught relationships to married men. The artwork is light, striking and beautiful. In the finishing interview, Yamada Murasaki mentions being impressed by the use of white space in Hayashi Seiichi's manga, and I can only say that I believe she has truly mastered the art of the absence for her own!
Essential reading for anyone interested in female manga creators outside the mainstream. So grateful for this translation
Essential reading for anyone interested in female manga creators outside the mainstream. So grateful for this translation
May 11, 2025
A loved the simple poetry of murasaki’s graphic novel, and how she describes loneliness in people, particularly of women in relationships with married men. I also love how simple yet sensuous she draws the women. Some quotes I’ll be thinking about:
“In the end we’re all the same- men, women, adults, children… we all just want to be smothered like babies against another human’s beating heart”
“Some women like being used by men to make themselves feel freer… but I want to use and be used by only myself, and I want a man who does the same”
“In the end we’re all the same- men, women, adults, children… we all just want to be smothered like babies against another human’s beating heart”
“Some women like being used by men to make themselves feel freer… but I want to use and be used by only myself, and I want a man who does the same”
June 4, 2025
Absolutely loved this. For some reason the spare narrative, the minimalistic, almost impressionistic art style, the mid-80's vaporwave vibe, it just hit me hard! There are lots of comics about sex and loneliness, including lots of alternative manga. But this stands above the ones I've read. It's so personal, occasionally surprising, but confident and never doing too much. It's cool without trying to be cool!
October 21, 2024
I didn't like it as much as Talk to My Back, her previous collection of material. She didn't make me understand how these women could embark on affairs with married men, knowing full well it's a dead end and an emotional toxin. Still, her art shines, and her light touch helped it go down a bit easier.
December 30, 2024
My second Murasaki Yamada book after Talk to My Back. Very good collection of short stories about relationships, emotions, and womanhood. I guess Talk to My Back was originally published in 1984 and this one was from 1987? Either way, she was really ahead of her time. As always, great of Drawn and Quarterly to translate and republish these collections.
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June 26, 2025The artwork is very appealing to me. I love how manga will not fill in a background or even a face sometimes if it helps the mood. This was one of Garo's most prolific artists and I think her work is in some of the 90s Garos I have. Story wise, this was just okay. I wish we knew more about these characters outside of their relationship.
August 18, 2025
i liked "a blue flame" more than the title story, enough to give this 5 stars LOL emi is so interesting i need to dissect her
stories about infidelity that interrogate the idea[l] of love from the perspective of the other woman, expanding beyond the cheating itself into networks of relationships the women navigate and, mainly internally, negotiate
stories about infidelity that interrogate the idea[l] of love from the perspective of the other woman, expanding beyond the cheating itself into networks of relationships the women navigate and, mainly internally, negotiate
August 28, 2025
This was a different kind of graphic/manga for me, like a different style. It was about a mistress who is having a relationship crisis then the second half is another story about a mistress, she also ends up leaving her partner. I kind of liked the second character better she was less wishy washy about ending the relationship.
December 4, 2025
Ero un po' perplesso leggendo la quarta di copertina che sponsorizzava Yamada come faro del femminismo, per poi scoprire che queste storie di donne amanti e tormentate sono... dei primi anni 80. Lo stile minimal del disegno è accattivante, ma le trame lette oggi sembrano un po' superate. Comunque molto affascinante.
May 2, 2025
I thought that these two stories were amazing. They are women who are both wrong and right, and Murasaki leaves the choice about how to understand them to the reader. This is the aspect that I enjoyed most about these stories. I can only hope that we get more Murasaki translated into English.
October 5, 2025
“Being married made me realize that ultimately I was alone. So did having kids. Each of them is their own person and, eventually, they and I will go our separate ways.” 1980s suburban Tokyo. Sad, strange, and interesting.
August 22, 2024
Two tales of cheating from the mistress's perspective, fragmentary and impactful.
September 13, 2024
It's so interesting to think about this and Talk to My Back together. Atmospheric, thought-provoking, and melancholic, glad to have finally read it.
September 19, 2024
This was so sad.
CW: infidelity.
18+
CW: infidelity.
18+
October 27, 2024
sad :(
November 28, 2024
DNF @ pg 54
December 4, 2024
She needs to be a bigger deal. Murasaki conveys loneliness so well and doesn't overexplain her themes. Love the illustration style of this era of josei!
February 9, 2025
Not as gripping as You Can Talk to My Back, but full of introspection and honesty.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews