Status Updates From Mamina zapuščina

Although the eponymous hero of the classic Tale of Genji was known for his amorous adventures, in Japanese literature romantic love had always been merely one theme among many—certainly less central than the change of seasons. The Western novels that had reached Japan in the last century and a half were almost all romance novels, transforming Japanese readers—especially women—into romantics.

Holding a glass of amber liquid in her hand, she idly scanned the room. No dark suit in sight. No one paid any attention to a middle-aged woman looking around the room. Inevitably, the older a woman became, the less she attracted people’s eyes; now that she could go virtually unseen, it was her turn to observe others. This was the law of a woman’s life.

According to the pamphlet they’d been given at the reception desk, the Hôtel du Lac had been redesigned more than once during its long history

ha! I’ve been thinking about Brookner because this is very much Japanese version of the same story of a woman struggling with loneliness, getting old, dealing with an old parent and here it is! Damn if I had read that book I might’ve noticed allusions but alas.

A corner of her mind had shut down. In life, did getting older inevitably mean getting inured to unhappiness? Part of her accepted this, but another part rebelled. Her health eventually broke down.