This novella tolds a short time in the life of a man, a man who left his wife Ohan for another woman who works as a geisha, just at the time his wife got pregnant. He stayed with this new lover, disconnecting from his past, doing nothing, just taking advantage of the money his new partner had, till the day his path and Ohan's cross again. And their son. From that moment their lives become entangled, and a series of consequences will come to happen because of this fortuitous encounter.
The story is not really important, because what Chiyo Uno really wants to do is describe the life of this man, his inner world, his thinking, his doubts and desires. And she does a great job in developing this 'despicable' character, selfish, and incapable of doing the right thing, always too weak to take responsibility for his actions. From page one, you get into his head, and his ramblings, the description of his actions, all is done in a way that you can keep reading even if you totally disagree with his behavior.
However, the novella is also quite simple, and it is pretty obvious were all of this is going, the character's journey masochistic in some sickly, moralistic, way. A little bit like a guilt trip.
The best: the way Chiyo gets into the head of the protagonist
The worst: you know from pretty early on where this is going (I mean, Chiyo is actually telling you), and it becomes kind of moralistic because of that
Alternatives: Miura Shiwon, Shigeko Yuki, Ichiriki Yamamoto or Seiko Tanabe
6.5/10
(Catalan translation by Albert Nolla)
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