A Mature Woman

by Saiichi Maruya

The author takes a serious theme and serves it up in a highly entertaining form. The central character is a bright, attractive, and strongwilled single woman working in the male-dominated environment of a major daily newspaper. One of her editorials angers a powerful supporter of the ruling political party; the government puts pressure on her through the newspaper; and the woman retaliates, using a network of friends and relatives - including an actress who was once closely involved with the prime minister, and a fellow journalist with writer's block - to defend herself. The result is a slyly accurate picture of contemporary Japan that not only tells us about the role of women there in the 1990s, and about bribery and coercion at the highest levels of society, but treats us to the sort of brilliant gossip that makes a good novel great fun to read.

Genres: Japan, Fiction, Japanese Literature

322 pages

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Saiichi MARUYA (丸谷 才一), a Japanese author and critic was born in 1925 in Yamagata Prefecture, grew up in Niigata, and graduated with a degree in English literature from the Tokyo Imperial University. After completing his Master's degree, he taught at Kokugakuin University and then at the University of Tokyo, while publishing a series of translations of English literary works.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maruya spies a literal hard-on for cherry blossoms, which made me smile: "The essentially erotic nature of mono no aware,"

The Sunday Times (yuck .. Rupert Murdoch) is quoted as saying" A Mature Woman" is "As gripping as a thriller" ... I wouldn't go that far. It's essentially a thoughtful novel about the Japanese traditions of gift-giving. I picked it up as goodreaders (Capsguy!) was raving about "Grass For My Pillow" ... but "A Mature Woman" was much cheaper.

It has a confusing start (very long chapter 1 = "day in the life of newbies on the editorial desk", very long chapter 2 = "young woman and two male friends have a row about wartime Japan at dinner"). Then our rookie editorial-writer, the mature woman, writes a rather strange piece about ... abortion. "They'll love it in Pomona" perhaps, but they'll hate it in Medieval England, Iowa.

There's a very Japanese response to her unpopular editorial ... the newspaper managers keep trying to pay the mature woman much more money to sit at a different desk and do fuck all. Poor dear. Yet she's determined to fix things. The Japanese way. Which means it takes 322 pages and nobody's very happy by the end of it. But then nobody's very sad either.

"A Mature Woman" is best enjoyed with that box of chocolates a colleague you don't really like was obliged to buy for you because you were obliged to buy him a packet of rice crackers that time.

The old actress was the most fun:
"Her voice softened as if she were remembering those far-off nights.
'At first he was really clumsy, quite hopeless. He didn't know a thing, you see. I had terrible trouble getting ...'
'Please, Masako,' her sister put in hurriedly, and then, after the briefest of pauses: 'Aren't you hungry?'"

[Marija S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life-like, rich, didactic, insightful, philosophical and practical, socially conscious,rewarding slow-read material. The plot is often side-tracking in secondary stories, meticulous and detailed presentation of all sorts of gossip, internal monologues, recollections of the characters which show how everything in life and the world is connected in a subtle, mysterious way. I considered giving it 4 stars, which probably would have been a more accurate mark, but eventually I appointed all 5 for the book being so skillfully interwoven collection of facets that make human life and of the lessons it brings.

[Taylor Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightfully entertaining, Maruya’s A Mature Woman weaves an intriguing tale that hangs at the intersection of journalism and politics, free expression and power. Evocative of 90s Japan, filled—characteristic for Maruya—with miniature lectures, essays, and references to academic life, this final novel is an enjoyable addition to Maruya’s important oeuvre.

[JoeG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasurable book to read due to a remarkable female -Yumiko. Yet, I wish the author had a better editor: some of the discussions between inconsequential minor characters (or even between Yumiko and her one dimensioned philosopher lover) read too much like essays.
Nevertheless, a fun, complicated silly story with many enjoyable parts.