Lonely Woman (Weatherhead Books on Asia)
This collection of five linked stories, published in 1977 in Japan, where it won the annual Women's Literature Prize, presents a startling view of Japanese women as it explores the theme of loneliness. Takahashi's protagonists are generally young women who live alone, occasionally teetering on the edge of madness and reaching for bizarre or extreme remedies for their conditions, and their stories have elements of feminism, surrealism, and spirituality. In the title story, Sakiko--who prefers to watch her dates from a distance as they wait for her rather than to join them--becomes obsessed with an arsonist burning elementary schools to the point that she imagines herself setting the fires. In "The Oracle," young widow Yoko dreams of her late husband with other women and questions the perfection of her short marriage before resorting to her mother-in-law's cruel remedy. Only in "Strange Bonds" does a protagonist, an older widow, find peace and a sense of release that has ripple effects beyond the boundary of that final story. A fascinating literary work.Michele LeberCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved