And as the two young lovers overcome their troubled past to discover hope in the beautiful solitude of The Lake in the country side, it s also one of her most moving. With its echoes of the infamous, real life Aum Shinrikyo cult the group that released poison gas in the Tokyo subway system, The Lake unfolds as the most powerful novel Banana Yoshimoto has written.

Visiting two of his friends who live a monastic life beside a beautiful lake, she begins to piece together a series of clues that lead her to suspect his experience may have had something to do with a bizarre religious cult… They eventually embark on a hesitant romance, until she learns that he has been the victim of some form of childhood trauma.

Until she realizes she s gotten used to seeing a young man across the street staring out his window, too. She finds herself spending too much time staring out her window, though…

It tells the tale of a young woman who moves to Tokyo after the death of her mother, hoping to get over her grief and start a career as a graphic artist. While The Lake shows off many of the features that have made Banana Yoshimoto famous a cast of vivid and quirky characters, simple yet nuanced prose, a tight plot with an upbeat pace it’s also one of the most darkly mysterious books she s ever written. ‘Banana Yoshimoto is always alert to the marvelous.’ ElleĪ major literary sensation is back with a quietly stunning tour de force about a young woman who falls for a cult escapee. Goodbye Tsugumi is a beguiling, resonant novel from one of the world’s finest young writers. She also has to confront both Tsugumi’s inner strength and the real possibility of losing her. Then Tsugumi invites Maria to spend a last summer by the sea, and a restful idyll becomes a time of dramatic growth, as Tsugumi finds love and Maria learns the true meaning of home and family. When Maria’s father is finally able to bring Maria and her mother to Tokyo, it ushers Maria into a world of university enrollment, impending adulthood, and a ‘normal’ family. She has grown up at the seaside alongside her cousin Tsugumi, a lifelong invalid who is charismatic, spoiled, and occasionally cruel. Maria is the only daughter of an unmarried woman.

Now she returns with a magical, offbeat story of a deep and complicated friendship between two young female cousins that ranks among her best work. Banana Yoshimoto’s novels have made her an international sensation, and her most recent, Asleep, was a triumphant performance, delighting her many fans.

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