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アルゼンチンババア
novel in japanese & english by yoshimoto. drawings and photographs by nara.
80 pages, Paperback Bunko
First published January 1, 2002
5 people are currently reading
423 people want to read
About the author
Banana Yoshimoto
236 books9,170 followersBanana 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."
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."
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 16, 2014
"My hundrum world disappeared when my mother died." This is the first line of "Argentine Hag," as told through the eyes of Micchan who lost her mother when she was 18. Micchan is similar to Mikage, the lead character of Banana Yoshimoto's brilliant debut novel, "Kitchen," because Mikage has just lost her grandmother and is also grieving. But the difference between the two books is that in "Kitchen," grief is something you experience and expect to move on from. In "Argentine Hag," you accept the fact that you never will.
In "Argentine Hag," Micchan tells us how she and her father deal with the aftermath of her mom's death. Her dad deals with the loss of his wife by trying to completely erase her out of his life. He seems to feel that the life he planned for didn't work out as he'd hoped so he is now going to completely reject having a life that has any semblance to the one he shared all those years with his family. Instead, he chooses to find a woman and lifestyle that is completely different. Micchan sees this as an expression of his anger towards life. But perhaps he feels that trying to continue life as he'd known it is too much of a reminder of his life with his late wife and that if he remembers her at all, he will not only remember the good times, but the pain will come to the surface also. He can't just move on. He has to obliterate that life completely from his memory to not feel the pain.
Micchan's dad begins dating the eccentric woman who the town have nicknamed "Argentine Hag" and who lives in a broken-down building. She looks old to them and wears thick make-up, flashy clothes, and used to teach the Argentine Tango and Spanish in the building. Micchan tells her dad that his association with Argentine Hag embarrasses her: "Dad," I said in a lowered voice. "Argentine Hag! I don't want to say this, but everyone in town is laughing at you."
When Micchan actually meets Argentine Hag, she finds out her name is Yuri and that the inside of the house is just as run-down as the outside. Micchan refers to it as "ruins." There is no heat, and layers of hair (both human and cat) are piled up on the rug. The house smells like cat urine. Even Yuri has her own smell which Micchan finds gross at first but then gets used to it. She begins to like Yuri and discovers that sometimes what appears to be negatives at first can actually be positives, such as the dark-stained ceiling which Micchan finds has happiness up there.
In Yuri's home, everything is preserved. The house resembles a storage area for an antique store. She repairs old lamps, and anything broken, with packing tape and cloth coverings. The teacups are discolored by 20 year-old stains. She'd rather repair things than part with them or buy new. She wants to keep the old things forever: "Within the Argentine Building, nothing was ever lost; time was suspended by the power of the human mind."
By the end of the book, Micchan finds out that Yuri is not as old as she'd thought. She is actually 50 and winds up having the dad's baby by C-section. But there were complications from the birth that she never heals from and she dies suddenly of a heart attack 6 years later. The lesson Micchan learns is that people are not always on the inside how they appear to be on the outside. She learns through Yuri how to deal with the grief she suffers from losing her mom: "Do you know why people make ruins?" Yuri asked me. "It is a wish that we don't want people we love to die, we want this day to last forever." This is the message of "Argentine Hag": to make this day last forever and to dance on the roof as Yuri and Micchan's dad said they often did. And it is okay to feel bad about loss, and as much as people try to move on, it is still okay to embrace your grief. It is why Yuri lives with all her old things and can't give them up. She is drawn to the past and can't move on and lead a normal life like the rest of society without all her old things and the feelings connected to them. "Argentine Hag" is a story of being stuck in your grief and stuck in both your childhood and the past. But that's okay because you can still dance on the rooftops once in a while.
In "Argentine Hag," Micchan tells us how she and her father deal with the aftermath of her mom's death. Her dad deals with the loss of his wife by trying to completely erase her out of his life. He seems to feel that the life he planned for didn't work out as he'd hoped so he is now going to completely reject having a life that has any semblance to the one he shared all those years with his family. Instead, he chooses to find a woman and lifestyle that is completely different. Micchan sees this as an expression of his anger towards life. But perhaps he feels that trying to continue life as he'd known it is too much of a reminder of his life with his late wife and that if he remembers her at all, he will not only remember the good times, but the pain will come to the surface also. He can't just move on. He has to obliterate that life completely from his memory to not feel the pain.
Micchan's dad begins dating the eccentric woman who the town have nicknamed "Argentine Hag" and who lives in a broken-down building. She looks old to them and wears thick make-up, flashy clothes, and used to teach the Argentine Tango and Spanish in the building. Micchan tells her dad that his association with Argentine Hag embarrasses her: "Dad," I said in a lowered voice. "Argentine Hag! I don't want to say this, but everyone in town is laughing at you."
When Micchan actually meets Argentine Hag, she finds out her name is Yuri and that the inside of the house is just as run-down as the outside. Micchan refers to it as "ruins." There is no heat, and layers of hair (both human and cat) are piled up on the rug. The house smells like cat urine. Even Yuri has her own smell which Micchan finds gross at first but then gets used to it. She begins to like Yuri and discovers that sometimes what appears to be negatives at first can actually be positives, such as the dark-stained ceiling which Micchan finds has happiness up there.
In Yuri's home, everything is preserved. The house resembles a storage area for an antique store. She repairs old lamps, and anything broken, with packing tape and cloth coverings. The teacups are discolored by 20 year-old stains. She'd rather repair things than part with them or buy new. She wants to keep the old things forever: "Within the Argentine Building, nothing was ever lost; time was suspended by the power of the human mind."
By the end of the book, Micchan finds out that Yuri is not as old as she'd thought. She is actually 50 and winds up having the dad's baby by C-section. But there were complications from the birth that she never heals from and she dies suddenly of a heart attack 6 years later. The lesson Micchan learns is that people are not always on the inside how they appear to be on the outside. She learns through Yuri how to deal with the grief she suffers from losing her mom: "Do you know why people make ruins?" Yuri asked me. "It is a wish that we don't want people we love to die, we want this day to last forever." This is the message of "Argentine Hag": to make this day last forever and to dance on the roof as Yuri and Micchan's dad said they often did. And it is okay to feel bad about loss, and as much as people try to move on, it is still okay to embrace your grief. It is why Yuri lives with all her old things and can't give them up. She is drawn to the past and can't move on and lead a normal life like the rest of society without all her old things and the feelings connected to them. "Argentine Hag" is a story of being stuck in your grief and stuck in both your childhood and the past. But that's okay because you can still dance on the rooftops once in a while.
April 21, 2008
I love the cover image (a larger version is on my cubby wall). It was worth the fifty dollars I paid for the dual language edition to also find the stylistic surprises Yoshitomo Nara added inside. I wish all books were as creatively designed. The short story was almost beside the point, but worth reading in its own right (or is this cognitive dissonance / compensatory thinking at work?).
October 30, 2017
I read this because I'm a Banana fan, and I discovered Nara in the process. The artwork and design of this book is quite wonderful, making nearly every page a small surprise. The illustrations and photos don't always exactly correlate to the story, but they fit the mood of it.
As for the story, honestly, it's quite standard Banana. There's a death, and there's a young woman attempting to figure out the meaning of death and life. It's familiar territory for her, and the characters are all quite quirky. That said, anyone who's read her knows that she knows how to tell a tale, how to set the mood, and how to put things in a compelling and thought-provoking way. So it's a nice story.
Worth seeking out. It seems a bit hard to find.
As for the story, honestly, it's quite standard Banana. There's a death, and there's a young woman attempting to figure out the meaning of death and life. It's familiar territory for her, and the characters are all quite quirky. That said, anyone who's read her knows that she knows how to tell a tale, how to set the mood, and how to put things in a compelling and thought-provoking way. So it's a nice story.
Worth seeking out. It seems a bit hard to find.
May 31, 2007
Argentine Hag by Yoshimoto Banana
This book is great if you are learning Japanese, to practice with your reading of kanji. It is a simple book, so intermediate level Japanese. I have a copy with Japanese and English, so I can cheat and check my readings. The story is great. It is strange and simple, yet beautiful, covering the life cycle of death and birth, and rediscovering family. Also, the entire artistic package of this book is absolutely brilliant and inspiring.
This book is great if you are learning Japanese, to practice with your reading of kanji. It is a simple book, so intermediate level Japanese. I have a copy with Japanese and English, so I can cheat and check my readings. The story is great. It is strange and simple, yet beautiful, covering the life cycle of death and birth, and rediscovering family. Also, the entire artistic package of this book is absolutely brilliant and inspiring.
October 18, 2015
Really nicely designed book, with scattered drawings, pictures and colours.
The story is typical of a Banana Yoshimoto recipe: in a big family bowl, add a cup of death, incorporate a tablespoons of life and spread a teaspoon of unusual on top. Maybe not original from her, but it works well.
It's both in English and Japanese, but most of the time, they're a few pages apart. I'm not sure why, it should have been easy to adapt some pictures to make it fit right, but that's just a minor point. Gorgeous book and lovely story.
The story is typical of a Banana Yoshimoto recipe: in a big family bowl, add a cup of death, incorporate a tablespoons of life and spread a teaspoon of unusual on top. Maybe not original from her, but it works well.
It's both in English and Japanese, but most of the time, they're a few pages apart. I'm not sure why, it should have been easy to adapt some pictures to make it fit right, but that's just a minor point. Gorgeous book and lovely story.
January 27, 2021
I read Kitchen and Midnight Shadow last year, both of which I really liked. Yoshimoto has this dream like quality to her writing that seems to be very popular among Japanese authors (Factory by Hiroko Oyamada and the Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya are very similar stylistically), but I think Argentine Hag was an example of that being pushed too far.
Yoshimoto's favorite themes of family loss and internal conflict are here, but the actual story does nothing to really grab anyone. The titular hag remains inscrutable, and there's the very weird aside about the narrator experiencing sexual assault. It felt like a poor rehash of many of the ideas present in Kitchen. The art was very cool though, and the way the art was woven into the book did give certain sections more power.
Yoshimoto's favorite themes of family loss and internal conflict are here, but the actual story does nothing to really grab anyone. The titular hag remains inscrutable, and there's the very weird aside about the narrator experiencing sexual assault. It felt like a poor rehash of many of the ideas present in Kitchen. The art was very cool though, and the way the art was woven into the book did give certain sections more power.
November 15, 2023
「それに、昔のことを思い出す時、ユリさんはいつでもとても悲しそうなのだった。その悲しさはなんかうっとりしたものなので、近寄りがたい何かか発散されて、現実に引き戻すのがいけないことに思えてしまうのだ。」
p61
「私はこの人生で私のための遺跡を自分で作っていかなくてはならない。(…)
どこまでも遠い異国に旅するのも、自分だけの遺跡を作ることも、きっと根っこのところでは同じ試みなのだと私は思う。ある時代からある時代へ旅して、消えていく。ささやかな抵抗の試みを永遠の中に刻みつける。それだけなのだ。」
p75
「「好きな人がいつまでも、死なないで、いつまでも今日が続いていてほし いって、そう思ったのよ」
その祈りは永遠に人間が持つはかないものなの、そしてきっとはるか上のほうから見たらネックレスみたいにきらきらと輝いていて、神さえもうらやませひきつけるほどの美しい光の粒なのよ、とユリさんは言った。」p80
p61
「私はこの人生で私のための遺跡を自分で作っていかなくてはならない。(…)
どこまでも遠い異国に旅するのも、自分だけの遺跡を作ることも、きっと根っこのところでは同じ試みなのだと私は思う。ある時代からある時代へ旅して、消えていく。ささやかな抵抗の試みを永遠の中に刻みつける。それだけなのだ。」
p75
「「好きな人がいつまでも、死なないで、いつまでも今日が続いていてほし いって、そう思ったのよ」
その祈りは永遠に人間が持つはかないものなの、そしてきっとはるか上のほうから見たらネックレスみたいにきらきらと輝いていて、神さえもうらやませひきつけるほどの美しい光の粒なのよ、とユリさんは言った。」p80
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September 13, 2022https://tblovesally.blogspot.com/2007...
母親住院以後，父親工作再忙，每天早晚必定帶著她愛吃的蛋糕和水果去醫院看她。可是，不知道為什麼，母親死的那天早上，他卻睡過頭了，沒有來。
我想，父親一定知道。
他前一天晚上就察覺了。
可是，他害怕，想要逃避。
也因此沒有得到那個大禮物。
上週五才分別收到《博客來》及《時報悅讀》關於吉本芭娜娜的《阿根廷婆婆》新書發行的電子報。
颱風天躲在家裡吃吃喝喝，除了沒有節制的享福跟變胖之外，最大的壞處就是也順便看完了 HP7。禮拜日好不容易終於可以跟朋友出去散散心，解除風大雨大的噪音壓力時，抱怨著《哈利波特》看完後，閱讀生活頓失重心的痛苦，大家都當我的若有所失是無病呻吟。
如果大家能了解這幾年來，遇上那種讓人完全不捨得放下書本，可是越到結尾越害怕閱閉後沒有書可以讀的佳作，對我來說是多麼稀少罕見、屈指可數的幸運，就能夠同情我的處境。
週日回家之前，到誠品去逛逛看看，沒有打折的書籍，基本上我還是傾向於網路訂購，不必勞費自己的力氣，把幾公斤的東西搬回家，在這樣的前提之下，又輕又薄的新書《阿根廷婆婆》當然是上上之選。
這本書雖然才剛上市，卻不是吉本的新作品，發行這本芭娜娜2002年，在兒子出生前寫下的《阿根廷婆婆》的中譯本，是因為這個作品被翻拍成電影，造成話題的緣故。芭娜娜擅長手法細膩婉轉的描寫，作品原本已大量出現在市場上，《阿根廷婆婆》更被奈良美智創作成了畫作及阿根廷實景的寫真，因此在故事被拍成電影前就已經倍受關注。
但是不可否認，電視電影等電子媒體，的確是比書籍文字更容易親近人的傳播方式。《阿根廷婆婆》搬上大螢幕後，這部導演是長尾直樹，主角為役所廣司、鈴木京香、以及堀北真希主演的電影今年在日本上映，近來關於電影的描述及評論確實比書籍本身多上許多，電影上映後原著作品也跟著受到更大的注目。
吉本的小說中必然有死亡元素存在的慣例，這本當然也毫不例外。女主角光的母親去世後，光因為上學的緣故，住到離學校較近的姑姑家，不久後才由朋友口中得知，父親已經結束原本的工作，搬到小鎮上讓人議論紛紛的「阿根廷婆婆」家。
沒有辦法接受母親辭世後突然改變的父親，光開始進入了阿根廷婆婆﹝原名百合﹞家，看看父親的新生活、接觸那個對爸爸來說重要的百合。漸漸地，阿根廷婆婆看起來髒亂不堪的奇幻小屋裡，卻因為舊物的堆積，而形成時光的流滯，充滿一般人所無法體會的安靜跟美好。
面對迷惘人生的光與父親，都在「到處舖著地毯，大概沾黏著十幾年分的頭髮層，飄著貓尿的味道，到處是貓毛和頭髮糾結成一團的灰塵」的阿根廷樓房裡面，找到家庭親情的重生、以及對自我的足夠認知。
「因為在阿根廷樓房裡，沒有什麼東西『不見了』，時間因為人們腦中的力量完全停止，因此，流過那裡的時間是特別的東西，絕對不是分成過去和現在而流過……」光的父親經過在屋頂上，用彩色石頭慢慢實現心目中的曼陀羅圖像的創作、光藉由安心釋放的逆境中的悲傷，找到完整內在自我的力量，對他們來說，房子裡令人難以忍受的腥臭味道，也逐漸成為怡人舒適的溫馨氣氛。
書中有些我很喜歡的句子、想法或是個性，譬如說：女兒疑惑地問父親，怎麼選擇了阿根廷婆婆，而今他們兩人都成了鎮上的笑話，父親回說，「隨他們怎麼說，只要幸福，我都無所謂。」的自在；「雖然人在死的瞬間以前明明還活著，卻因為周遭早早施加的那種小小詛咒，被當成已經死了。……人在死的瞬間以前還活著，��們絕不可以在心中先埋葬他。」的領悟；「我第一次來時，覺得這棟老樓房像座墳墓。但是現在不同了，覺得它是一棟鎖住舊夢、至今還活的遺跡。」的珍惜。
靜靜讀著這本早期的作品，文中似乎透露出更多吉本對於死亡的認知、疑惑、以及著迷，是短短的故事中夾雜著智語的慧詰，讓讀者更可以揮灑自如的體悟，卻也因為一些觀點上面並沒有解釋清楚，聽來噱頭感十足的文句﹝本文最上面﹞，沒有適當說明及鋪陳，而給人太隨便的一語帶過的印象。
會買這本書，最重要的還是柰良美智的作品。阿根廷婆婆是時報出版，奈良美智和吉本芭娜娜合作的第二本書﹝第一本是《無情／厄運》﹞，奈良的女娃娃總是有著大大的眼睛，倔強的臉龐，以及特立獨行的表情，很適合芭娜娜筆下的世界。
全書僅只厚厚的 88 頁，字大空隔多紙張鎊數又重，以前的那個年代，這麼點字數還無法集結成書的吧，現在這樣就可以賣錢了！我覺得有點貴，想看的人跟我借好啦，不然實在太花錢啦！
2007年8月21日 星期二
母親住院以後，父親工作再忙，每天早晚必定帶著她愛吃的蛋糕和水果去醫院看她。可是，不知道為什麼，母親死的那天早上，他卻睡過頭了，沒有來。
我想，父親一定知道。
他前一天晚上就察覺了。
可是，他害怕，想要逃避。
也因此沒有得到那個大禮物。
上週五才分別收到《博客來》及《時報悅讀》關於吉本芭娜娜的《阿根廷婆婆》新書發行的電子報。
颱風天躲在家裡吃吃喝喝，除了沒有節制的享福跟變胖之外，最大的壞處就是也順便看完了 HP7。禮拜日好不容易終於可以跟朋友出去散散心，解除風大雨大的噪音壓力時，抱怨著《哈利波特》看完後，閱讀生活頓失重心的痛苦，大家都當我的若有所失是無病呻吟。
如果大家能了解這幾年來，遇上那種讓人完全不捨得放下書本，可是越到結尾越害怕閱閉後沒有書可以讀的佳作，對我來說是多麼稀少罕見、屈指可數的幸運，就能夠同情我的處境。
週日回家之前，到誠品去逛逛看看，沒有打折的書籍，基本上我還是傾向於網路訂購，不必勞費自己的力氣，把幾公斤的東西搬回家，在這樣的前提之下，又輕又薄的新書《阿根廷婆婆》當然是上上之選。
這本書雖然才剛上市，卻不是吉本的新作品，發行這本芭娜娜2002年，在兒子出生前寫下的《阿根廷婆婆》的中譯本，是因為這個作品被翻拍成電影，造成話題的緣故。芭娜娜擅長手法細膩婉轉的描寫，作品原本已大量出現在市場上，《阿根廷婆婆》更被奈良美智創作成了畫作及阿根廷實景的寫真，因此在故事被拍成電影前就已經倍受關注。
但是不可否認，電視電影等電子媒體，的確是比書籍文字更容易親近人的傳播方式。《阿根廷婆婆》搬上大螢幕後，這部導演是長尾直樹，主角為役所廣司、鈴木京香、以及堀北真希主演的電影今年在日本上映，近來關於電影的描述及評論確實比書籍本身多上許多，電影上映後原著作品也跟著受到更大的注目。
吉本的小說中必然有死亡元素存在的慣例，這本當然也毫不例外。女主角光的母親去世後，光因為上學的緣故，住到離學校較近的姑姑家，不久後才由朋友口中得知，父親已經結束原本的工作，搬到小鎮上讓人議論紛紛的「阿根廷婆婆」家。
沒有辦法接受母親辭世後突然改變的父親，光開始進入了阿根廷婆婆﹝原名百合﹞家，看看父親的新生活、接觸那個對爸爸來說重要的百合。漸漸地，阿根廷婆婆看起來髒亂不堪的奇幻小屋裡，卻因為舊物的堆積，而形成時光的流滯，充滿一般人所無法體會的安靜跟美好。
面對迷惘人生的光與父親，都在「到處舖著地毯，大概沾黏著十幾年分的頭髮層，飄著貓尿的味道，到處是貓毛和頭髮糾結成一團的灰塵」的阿根廷樓房裡面，找到家庭親情的重生、以及對自我的足夠認知。
「因為在阿根廷樓房裡，沒有什麼東西『不見了』，時間因為人們腦中的力量完全停止，因此，流過那裡的時間是特別的東西，絕對不是分成過去和現在而流過……」光的父親經過在屋頂上，用彩色石頭慢慢實現心目中的曼陀羅圖像的創作、光藉由安心釋放的逆境中的悲傷，找到完整內在自我的力量，對他們來說，房子裡令人難以忍受的腥臭味道，也逐漸成為怡人舒適的溫馨氣氛。
書中有些我很喜歡的句子、想法或是個性，譬如說：女兒疑惑地問父親，怎麼選擇了阿根廷婆婆，而今他們兩人都成了鎮上的笑話，父親回說，「隨他們怎麼說，只要幸福，我都無所謂。」的自在；「雖然人在死的瞬間以前明明還活著，卻因為周遭早早施加的那種小小詛咒，被當成已經死了。……人在死的瞬間以前還活著，��們絕不可以在心中先埋葬他。」的領悟；「我第一次來時，覺得這棟老樓房像座墳墓。但是現在不同了，覺得它是一棟鎖住舊夢、至今還活的遺跡。」的珍惜。
靜靜讀著這本早期的作品，文中似乎透露出更多吉本對於死亡的認知、疑惑、以及著迷，是短短的故事中夾雜著智語的慧詰，讓讀者更可以揮灑自如的體悟，卻也因為一些觀點上面並沒有解釋清楚，聽來噱頭感十足的文句﹝本文最上面﹞，沒有適當說明及鋪陳，而給人太隨便的一語帶過的印象。
會買這本書，最重要的還是柰良美智的作品。阿根廷婆婆是時報出版，奈良美智和吉本芭娜娜合作的第二本書﹝第一本是《無情／厄運》﹞，奈良的女娃娃總是有著大大的眼睛，倔強的臉龐，以及特立獨行的表情，很適合芭娜娜筆下的世界。
全書僅只厚厚的 88 頁，字大空隔多紙張鎊數又重，以前的那個年代，這麼點字數還無法集結成書的吧，現在這樣就可以賣錢了！我覺得有點貴，想看的人跟我借好啦，不然實在太花錢啦！
2007年8月21日 星期二
March 22, 2016
Lovely, ephemeral, light, and wistful, just like you would expect from Banana Yoshimoto. I know her writing has been considered "fluff" by some, but ever since reading "Kitchen" in high school, I've always loved her way of painting emotionally stirring, physically vivid feelings and places. She's not overly concerned with plot, but her way with those things makes that feel not so necessary, at least to me. Very glad to have stumbled upon the beautiful bilingual edition with the charming illustrations carefully laid-in throughout.
May 20, 2012
The usual Banana Yoshimoto fluff, I picked this up at that great 中古本屋 on Brewer Street in London, the one with the big shop sign that says 'De-Luxe Cleaning.' (To keep away the 外人? - http://bit.ly/aca3Mj) Not too much to say about this really - a nice easy read to keep the neuronal pathways lubricated while away from the Big Nip.
March 2, 2009
The story Argentine Hag is about a girl coming to terms with her father's choices after her mother's death.
February 19, 2020
I think this was one of Banana's better stories.
June 30, 2020
d a writings a 4/5 but i like yoshitomo naras drawings 2 much 2 not giv ths a 5
August 5, 2025
好像所有情節剛提起就完結了，爸爸的心態轉變、阿根廷婆婆的想法、新生弟弟的部份、主角成長等等，各種情節和感覺懸掛在空中沒有妥善收尾。難得對阿根廷婆婆產生了一點連繫就突如其來死了......表哥那部份有夠突兀的，有點像充字數呢。
September 10, 2025
A very short read with a tremendous power. My view over life has infinitely changed.
December 11, 2022
What if your mother passes away, then your father finds next woman whose look and smell are quite uncomfortable, living in a devastated building but pure pure mind, when you are in teenage?
The main character is a teenager who encountered such situation.
On the contrary to the situation, the storyline moves with tons of tenderness and healing.
The woman, Yuri, wearing a black dress with uncomfortable smell, affectionately embraces family situation of aftermath in a creepy house.
Sounds wired though, she has something that draws emotion hidden and supressed in the teenager.
I think Yuri throws words that the teenager wanted the most at that time from the beginning.
This stroy is about healing and reconstruction.
Very touching story that cotains many gems in the short story.
The main character is a teenager who encountered such situation.
On the contrary to the situation, the storyline moves with tons of tenderness and healing.
The woman, Yuri, wearing a black dress with uncomfortable smell, affectionately embraces family situation of aftermath in a creepy house.
Sounds wired though, she has something that draws emotion hidden and supressed in the teenager.
I think Yuri throws words that the teenager wanted the most at that time from the beginning.
This stroy is about healing and reconstruction.
Very touching story that cotains many gems in the short story.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews