Namako: Sea Cucumber

by Linda Watanabe McFerrin

Caught between being a child and a teenager, ten-year-old multiracial Ellen must adapt to an entirely different culture and new relatives when her family moves to Japan to care for her ailing grandmother

Genres: Fiction, Japan, Asian American, Young Adult, Asian Literature

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Linda Watanabe McFerrin (www.lwmcferrin.com) is a poet, travel writer, novelist and longtime contributor to numerous newspapers, magazines and anthologies. She is the author of two poetry collections, past editor of a popular Northern California guidebook and a winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction. Her novel, Namako: Sea Cucumber, was named Best Book for the Teen-Age by the New York Public Library. In addition to authoring an award-winning short story collection, The Hand of Buddha, she has co-edited twelve anthologies, including the Hot Flashes: sexy little stories & poems series. Her latest novel, Dead Love (Stone Bridge Press, 2009), was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel.
Linda has judged the San Francisco Literary Awards, the Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence and the Kiriyama Prize, served as a visiting mentor for the Loft Mentor Series and been guest faculty at the Oklahoma Arts Institute. A past NEA Panelist and juror for the Marin Literary Arts Council and the founder of Left Coast Writers, she has led workshops in Greece, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Central America, Indonesia, Spain, Cuba and the United States and has mentored a long list of award-winning writers and best-selling authors toward publication.
Navigating the Divide, a collection of Linda’s selected works is available now from Alan Squire Publishing.

Reviews

[Djoeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! I bought it in a second hand bookstore was drawn to the beautiful title. The story was wonderfull and describes the life of a young girl/becoming a teenager.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars for this story about a mixed Japanese/Caucasian girl and her family who move from the US to Japan. There was some great stuff in here. It was more like a series of vignettes than a novel.

[Phoebe Wandell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Childhood

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the coolest things about this book is the title, Namako, which apparently means both "sea cucumber" and "raw child." That's neat. Ellen, the main character, compares herself to a sea cucumber, which seems to be neither animal nor plant. Ellen is not sure who she is: at ten, she is not exactly a child anymore, but she is far from being a woman. Also, her father is Scottish and her mother is Japanese, but she has grown up in the United States. Things become even more complicated when Ellen's family moves from the United States to Japan, ostensibly to be near her elderly grandmother, but actually in reaction to the father's affair.
Ellen is left to live with her grandmother, who tells her that she has no soul. Through her experiences, and especially through her relationship with her grandmother, Ellen's "soul" slowly develops. She becomes more aware and more settled in herself, but it's not at all cheesy like that sounds. Another thing I have to mention is how lovely the writing is in this novel. It is so elegant and spare, but never pretentious or stark. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read memoirs (or pseudo-memoirs--I think this is probably based the author's life) or who is interested in multiculturalism.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up in a bookstore on a visit to San Francisco based on the cover and the first few pages. This book reads more like a series of connected short stories than a novel. Ellen, the narrator, seems to feel out of place in both her cultures (not sufficiently American or Japanese), and as the oldest child on the verge of adolescence she doesn't fit with her younger siblings anymore but her parents and grandmother don't get her either. The stories are vividly imagined snapshots of moments that help her figure out what/who she is and where she fits. For example the story of the teacher who notes her artistic talent but then rather than mentoring her, tries to exploit her for his own creepy aims.

[Kienie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rating would've been higher were it not for the almost random religious epiphany moment in the end. Yes, it came after a moment of grief, and yes it somewhat tied into threads of spirituality that existed throughout the book. Maybe I'm just frustrated because we're left with a what's portrayed as a profound moment - without experiencing its impact. We are just vaguely told there will be a change. What it is? Why now? How come this is the form in which it appeared? What does it mean that this is the first moment of actual supernatural apparition in a novel where such things have thus far been symbolic?

Other than the ending, which left me disappointed, the rest of the novel is comprised of vignettes from the life of Ellen. Her world was very different from mine, growing up, and thus very interesting to observe. A lot of times I was very afraid for her and her siblings, because they seemed to be in real danger. I was horrified by things she described in such simple, matter of fact ways. But the language was engaging. And while the perspective was limited and unreliable, that's what made the world so fascinating - there was no knowing if any of it was true at all.

I don't know if this is at all or in part autobiographical. I don't know that it matters to the success of the story.

[Inga Aksamit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Watanabe McFerrin’s "Namako" is a beautifully written, deeply felt novel that bridges cultures with grace and insight. Set between Japan and the U.S., it follows a young woman navigating identity, belonging, and the pull of two worlds. The author's prose is luminous—lyrical without being overwrought—and her characters feel alive and real. The story unfolds with quiet emotional power, exploring love, loss, and transformation in ways that stay with you long after finishing. A tender, literary gem that tugs at the heartstrings and rewards readers who savor thoughtful, cross-cultural fiction.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost gave up on this book early on (for the second time), but I’m so glad I pushed through. The writing is wonderful and the episodes are page turners. It would have been five stars except for the divergence into fantasy in the last chapter.

The paperback is beautifully designed. It is a nonstandard size which is pleasant to hold and read, and it has a dust cover!

[Donna Fado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. Wonderful storytelling that plants seeds of cross-cultural understanding.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This strange coming-of-age story is about Ellen, a quarter-Japanese child whose parents have moved her and her three younger siblings to Japan from the United States in the hopes of saving their marriage. Ellen is in the midst of quite an identity crisis - she is no longer a child like her siblings, but certainly not adult enough to understand much of what is going on around her. She looks different than her friends in America, but she's certainly not Asian enough and can barely speak the language in her new country. With her fractured outlook, Ellen befriends a girl named Anne, establishes an almost spiritual relationship with her aging grandmother, and experiences the confusion of interactions with a teacher who crosses boundaries under the guise of assisting her artistic development. While the entire novel is about Ellen's growth as an individual, the chapters are disconnected in a way that reflects Ellen's life, but also makes it difficult to really get into. I did, however, appreciated the portrayal of Ellen as a real girl - she makes cowardly choices because she can't find her own voice, she follows when she knows it's wrong, and she keeps secrets because she wants to feel special., but also because she is loyal. She is lonely and scared, but at the same time strong and independent. While I wanted more from this book in terms of plot, I really loved Ellen and have high hopes for the amazing person she is sure to become.

[Alcornell · Rating 3 out of 5]

read it while in Japan, in 2000, where I resonated strongly with feeling like, and truly being an outsider at every turn. I was impressed with the imagery, and that each chapter could stand alone, but all related. It gave me a little tiny peek at Japan, mixed heritage identity, and adolescence which I could not have had otherwise. I gifted my copy of the book to a young Japanese waitress in a Sushi restaurant who kindly spoke English to me over several visits (she being very excited by the book's title.) Why was an American woman reading a book with that title?? Why did an American write a book with this title? Did I know what Namako is? Had I tasted Namako? (yes, it's sea cucumber, it even says so in the title, but to the point, I do know what sea cucumber is, and no, not for a $1000. will I taste it, don't ask me why...just squeamish.) My young waitress was studying English at university in Hiroshima; apparently talking to me was good exercise--for both of us. For me, those little chats were a reminder that although an outsider, many moments when gathered together make that fact a tiny bit less so. Coincidentally, this was the point of the book. I have not read more of Watanabe-McFerrin's work, but I should. She has a strong, positive feminine voice. A trivial aside: she's from San Francisco, which is in my backyard, even more reason to give her a neighborly read.

[Wanda Brenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an intesting story that seemed much more autobiographical than fiction--a coming together of a Japanese/american childhood--Namako means sea cucumber or naked child--It was well written but went too quickly to the end. In the last chapters of the book, the naked child is transformed as she takes in her Japanese hertiage, but the path to that transformation wasn't formed in the reader's mind and so comes as a surprise at the end. The grandmother who is central to the change in the main character is not developed during the story nor the impact that she has on the child. In fact, although most of the novel takes place in Japan, most of the incidents that make up the story are among the group of American children who reside in the area.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely captures the feeling of being in Japan as an outsider-insider. Someone gave me this book when I was Ellen's age, about 10 or 11, and it was too much for me back then. I just remember reading the first couple of chapters and being horrified by some of the violent and sexual imagery that now seems pretty tame (even compared to later chapters). I almost gave the book away so many times but kept it for some reason--and now I'm glad I did.

[Stephanie Balascio-Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

McFerrin has a beautiful way with words. Some of her descriptions are so original and clever I couldn't help but smile in admiration as I read. What I find most refreshing is that the coming of age vignettes presented are a bit off from the ordinary. They helped to spark some of my own memories that haven't surfaced in years!

[Karen Kapocius]

This book was interesting. It was read by the students of Book Club which I facilitate on Wednesday evenings at WWRC. The students enjoyed the book, it kept the interest of the group and provided for great discussion.

[Serafina Sands · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable, but not memorable. I did not miss the characters when it ended, or wonder what happened to them. I just read the synopsis on Goodreads, and it sounds so enticing -- not realized int eh novel, alas.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a young girl, Ellen and her family move to Japan from the United States. Great characters, well-written, fresh, and funny. The author leaves some big questions unanswered, even to the point of us not being entirely sure whether an event was good or bad.

[Oyetravadora · Rating 3 out of 5]

not very interesting, uninteresting diction.

[becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters are all enjoyable and show development, but the story lacks direction.