Once Removed: A Novel

by Mako Yoshikawa

The Washington Post praised Mako Yoshikawa’s extraordinary first novel, One Hundred and One Ways, as “strikingly assured.” The Orlando Sentinel called it “an impressive accomplishment.” In Once Removed, Yoshikawa continues in the tradition of Alice Walker and Amy Tan with a powerful story of two women from different cultures who form a deep friendship that, though severely tested, can never be broken. It has been many long years since Claudia last saw her Japanese-American stepsister. Once upon a time, Claudia’s Jewish father fell in love with Rei’s Japanese mother and abandoned his family to be with her. Though Claudia resented this new family her father so readily embraced, from the moment she and Rei met, the two girls formed a bond not even their parents understood. Their long-standing joke is that they are mirror reflections of each other--though in truth they are striking opposites. Claudia is blond and large-boned; Rei is dark-haired and thin, with distinct Asian features.Now in their early thirties, Claudia and Rei have found a way back into each other’s troubled life. As impulsively affectionate as ever, Rei has come to Boston to recuperate from a potentially life-threatening illness, while the typically cautious Claudia has found herself replicating the behavior of her step-mother by falling in love with a married man. As they come together, the two women realize they must strike a balance between the friendship they long to recover and the secrets they have learned to keep. And they discover that despite the distance that has grown between them, their bond is as strong as ever--and could help them repair the other wounded relationships in their lives. Lyrical, evocative, and richly imagined, Once Removed is an exceptional tale of two families, two cultures, and the connection between two women that survives the betrayals of those around them. Taking us from the exotic Japan of the 1940s and ’50s, to the verdant English countryside, to the urban streets of Boston, Mako Yoshikawa is a gifted storyteller who has firmly established her place in contemporary fiction. From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Japan

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Mako Yoshikawa is the author of the novels Once Removed and One Hundred and One Ways. Her essays have been published in LitHub, Harvard Review, Southern Indiana Review, Missouri Review, and Best American Essays, among other places. She is a professor of creative writing and directs the MFA program at Emerson College. She lives in Boston and Baltimore.

Reviews

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

What beautiful prose she writes. But it seems in the end it was a 300 pages of justification to continue an affair with a man, married with a family. No parent or anyone with maturity would advise their child to devote her life to being in the shadows with no family/commitment for herself. It is a distasteful message and dangerous if others read that as "reasoning" to support their choice to remain the 2nd place mistress. Women do this all the time but look ahead 15yrs and guess what--there's no way they'd still be together and no way would Claudia be happy with her chosen inferior position. What a waste for someone of such brilliant writing skills, this chosen subject matter. And may I say, I am happily married for 40yrs with no such affairs in our life. This is not a bitter woman speaking from experience. Just an older one with a modicum of wisdom, I hope.

[Kathy Tamanaha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found her writing to be poetic (sometimes it took me a while to get back to her original thread since she tended to place offshoots like this in parens :)) and insightful. the book was compelling enough to keep reading quickly till the end. Makes me want to pick up her other book soon.... thanks Marin!

[Ruth E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the chapters were interesting; some of them were boring. The interesting ones kept me reading the book. The author had information in that seemed like she was trying to be really intellectual, but which actually distracted from the story. Plus, the use of parentheses! She had so many sentences in parentheses in the middle of other sentences that I would have to stop and go back and read the sentence without the sentence in parentheses so I could remember it. It was very annoying. So, I would have to say that I do not recommend this book even though it was a decent story.

[Lori Bamber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glorious.

[Jacquelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once Removed offers quite a lot to the reader. It leads us through culture and generational dynamics, difficult choices and unusual perspectives on some universal dilemmas. The most obvious question is whether Claudia should leave Vikram, who is married with two children. Yoshikawa gently leads us around this decision point, and lets us think about it from several points of view. She does us the favour of not offering obvious and easy answers Yoshikawa also lets us see things through the lens of a traditional Japanese woman, and contrasts her thoughts with those of her daughter (Rei) and her stepdaughter (Claudia). She views some of these perspectives with humour: Rei and Claudia, when the first met, decided they looked exactly alike, even thought the physical differences were significant (Claudia is large, blonde, and slow-moving, Rei is small, with Asian features and a tendency to run everywhere). In my view, Yoshikawa spins a great story - what was lacking was the soaring prose.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of 2 step-sisters, Rei and Claudia, who were brought together with Claudia's father left her mother to marry Hana, Rei's mother. It's a story of the effects of the Hiroshima blast on people who weren't even in the city that August in 1943. It's a story of forgiveness and letting go. But most of all, it's a story of love and recognizing it as something to protect and cherish.

Rei and Claudia were once each other's soul sisters, but haven't seen each other in 17 years after Hana left their father. Claudia, who hated Hana for breaking up her original family, now finds herself emulating her stepmother, and having an affair with a married man with 2 children. Rei finally contacts Claudia and arranges to meet her, but she has a secret that she thinks Claudia now needs to know.

It's a story of 3 women, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, coming together at last in the acknowledgement that no matter how it came about, they are family.

[Elysabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was haunting--a little sad and slightly depressing. The lack of communication between characters is a point of frustration, but I do like how the narrative changes among the characters--that gives it a true depth of story.

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really into Japanese writers, I don't know why. Maybe it's my obsession with Japan, but This story about two girl's who are stepsister's, that moves from their childhood into adulthood is really goos. I recommend it to any woman.

[Gia · Rating 3 out of 5]

About a love affair and the relationship of sisters and how blended families bring women together. The book is a loving tale of noticing a relative mature as with meeting often and then not so often will do. Journey's with men not often mention until later stages.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked the bond these two girls had with each other as friends and stepsisters and glad that in the end they found each other again despite being seperated for so many years.

[Dyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more from the story.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally found a "Y" for my list! The writing in this story was beautiful, even if it sometimes seemed the characters didn't develop as deeply as I'd hoped.

[Chrissie]

Daisy, this looks good....... I do not know exactly why this appeals to me, quite out of character, but it does! Probably the text - check is what did it!

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

American contemp...1970s and 1999 NJ and Boston...Step sisters rebond, fidelity and relations. Just not my kind of book.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

nicely written, interesting stories... greatly dislike the ending.

[Daisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not giving up on this yet...