![]() ![]() The fleeting moments of literary descriptions made that much more precious and exceptional. This linguistic contrast creates a stark demarcation that can be jarring for some, but I found it incredibly moving and beautiful. Saving powerful imagery and symbolism for surprising moments which resonate for long after you turn the page. The author spends most of the time using minimalist language and dialogue to convey tension and emotion. Years later, now a translator herself, Kazami describes the brief time she approached translating "NP" soon after Shoji’s demise, “It felt like walking out into the ocean with your clothes on, the waves pounding into your body, and swimming out toward the horizon with nothing holding you back.” This visceral image is typical of Yoshimoto. First, it claims Takase himself, then Kazami’s boyfriend Shoji, who found a haunting 98 th story and attempts to translate it from English to Japanese. A cancer of sorts, the book infects all those who become emotionally invested in its language with an urge to take their lives. The title, NP refers to a fictional book of 97 short stories written in English by Sarao Takase, a fictional Japanese author. Our narrator, Kazami, sidesteps a darkness bubbling from within to face one that comes crashing into her life in the form of the novel’s true protagonist-Sui. ![]() The book is actually about welcoming a dark force into your life. ![]() Grabby blog post title, right? These are all elements in Banana Yoshimoto’s NP, but they’re not what the book is about. ![]()
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