The perfect world of Miwako Sumida

Title:

Author:

Goenawan, Clarissa, 1988- author.

Personal Author:

Goenawan, Clarissa, 1988- author.

ISBN:

9781641291194

Physical Description:

278 pages ; 22 cm

Abstract:

"University sophomore Miwako Sumida has hanged herself, leaving those closest to her reeling. In the months before her suicide, she was hiding away in a remote mountainside village, but what, or whom, was she running from? To Ryusei, a fellow student at Waseda; Chie, Miwako's best friend; and Fumi, Ryusei's older sister, Miwako was more than the blunt, no-nonsense person she projected to the world. Heartbroken, Ryusei begs Chie to take him to the village where Miwako spent her final days. While he is away, Fumi receives an unexpected guest at their shared apartment in Tokyo, increasingly fearful that Miwako's death may ruin what is left of her brother's life. Expanding on the beautifully crafted world of Rainbirds, Clarissa Goenawan gradually pierces through a young woman's careful façade, unmasking her most painful secrets"--Provided by publisher.

Subject Term:

Women college students -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Genre:

Psychological fiction.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
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Searching... Hull Street	Book	FICTION GOENAWA	Searching... Unknown
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Summary

University sophomore Miwako Sumida has hanged herself, leaving those closest to her reeling. In the months before her suicide, she was hiding away in a remote mountainside village, but what, or whom, was she running from? Expanding on the beautifully crafted world of Rainbirds, Clarissa Goenawan gradually pierces through a young woman's careful facade, unmasking her most painful secrets.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

When a Tokyo university student hangs herself in a remote forest, three devastated friends seek to understand why.Reluctantly attending a group blind date, Waseda University student Ryusei Yanagi is immediately attracted to Miwako Sumida, whose "serious expression behind a pair of old-fashioned thick-rimmed glasses" and blunt manner are at odds with her prettier and flirtier girlfriends. "She seemed sensible," Ryu thinks. As they bond while browsing in an English-language bookshop and reading together in the library, Ryu falls in love with Miwako, sensing a softness and compassion behind her hard exterior, but she refuses to date him. Fumi, Ryu's transgender sister, is also intrigued by the stubborn and standoffish girl, whom she hires as a painting assistant for her studio. Eight months later, Miwako is dead, and a grieving Ryusei travels with Miwako's close friend Chie Ohno to Kitsuyama, a mountain village where Miwako spent her final days, to find answers. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Fumi receives an unexpected visitor who might hold a clue to Miwako's suicide. Set in the same moodily atmospheric Japanese world as her acclaimed debut novel, Rainbirds (2018), Indonesian-born Singaporean writer Goenawan explores via the perspectives of Ryu, Fumi, and Chie how a carefully crafted facade of hardened perfection can crumble under the weight of painful secrets and shame, leading to tragedy. Although the nature of Miwako's hidden past becomes apparent early on, she is such a compelling protagonist that the reader doesn't mind the obviousness. Like Japanese brush painting, the author's simple, clear prose captures Miwako's vulnerability and complexity. Also vividly drawn are Fumi and Chie, each having built their own unusual protective personas that are gradually revealed.An eerie and elegant puzzle. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.