Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

Summary:

One night when she is drinking alone in a local bar, Tsukiko finds herself sitting next to her former high school teacher. Over the coming months they share food and drink sake, and as the seasons pass - from spring cherry blossoms to autumnal mushrooms - Tsukiko and her teacher come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly towards love.

About the Author:

Hiromi Kawakami is a Japanese author of fiction and poetry, and is one of Japan’s most contemporary novelists. She has written lots of short stories and novels, many of which have been translated into English. Her works explore everyday social interactions, with elements of magical realism mixed in. She has won many awards, including the Woman Writer’s Prize and Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.

Rating:

5 stars - ★★★★★

Review:

Strange Weather in Tokyo felt like reading a grown up fairy story. The descriptions of food, weather and seasons were enchanting. All the characters made me feel a little wistful and longing for them to be happy. 

I say this every time I read a book translated from Japanese, but I really love all the seasonal descriptions and, particularly in Strange Weather in Tokyo, all the descriptions of weather changes. This really helps to slow the pace and add that fairy tale aspect for me. It really immersed me in the story as it’s easy to imagine things that I also experience like spring rain and crunchy autumn leaves.

All the characters were complex, quirky and loveable. I did love all of them, even supposedly minor characters, and even ones that had their faults. I love the fragility of each character. All reaching out, trying to avoid loneliness, but staying guarded and protecting themselves at the same time. I enjoyed getting the little clues of why characters reacted in the way they did. The characters were well fleshed out but also kept quite a lot of mystery. It really felt like a snapshot of their lives. We didn’t get tons of backstory for each character, just what was immediately relevant to the story. We just got to peer through a keyhole at them and then disappear again. 

Tsukiko and Sensei’s relationship isn’t as odd as I expected. There’s always a bit of an ‘eugh’ moment for student/teacher relationships, however Tsukiko is nearly 40, and they haven’t seen each other for years. I did try not to think too much about their age difference and their history. Some of Sensei’s comments to Tsukiko made that a bit hard - he did talk down to her sometimes and make comments about how she was at school (didn’t pay attention, wasn’t good at Japanese, had pigtails…). However, from Tsukiko’s point of view, I think that made her feel seen. She had someone in her life who remembers things about her and she has a history with. Sensei also isn’t a very modern person. He did make some old fashioned comments and was quite misogynistic. However he was likeable in an odd way, he was quirky, independent, nostalgic and he obviously made Tsukiko happy.

Strange Weather in Tokyo deals a lot with the theme of loneliness. Somehow this seemed quite romantic to me. Maybe because I’m not lonely. I loved the idea of Tsukiko’s life of reading in bed, napping, then going out for food and sake. The descriptions of food were mouth-wateringly good. I’m desperate to go to Japan to try all the food. And I wish I had more time to laze around reading and sleeping! I also like how Tsukiko and Sensi did their own things together. Like they eat or go shopping or to museums next to each other and do their own thing. Just existing together.

There were some dream-like scenes which from what I’ve read is typical to Hiromi Kawakami’s writing. It added that magical realism aspect, but I didn’t overly understand the significance. I made the decision to just read and enjoy them for what they were. 

I do think Tsukiko and Sensei should have just stayed friends. I didn’t love the parts where their relationship started to go further than that… 

Overall, I just enjoyed reading Strange Weather in Tokyo. I was tempted by the cover, and although it doesn’t really match the story, as the lady in the photo is clearly not Tsukiko, looking at it now, I imagine the woman in the photo to be the reader. Just sort of floating around watching these people as they go about their lives. I was sucked into the book, I couldn’t put it down, I cared about the characters and I am excited to read more by Hiromi Kawakami. I would recommend Strange Weather in Tokyo if you’re looking for something short, descriptive and aren’t going to be put off by a relationship with a big age difference. I also think this is an excellent example of Japanese literature, so if you’re a fan of Japan then this is for you.

New Words:

Cumulonimbus: A dense, towering, vertical cloud

Paulownia: A type of hardwood tree

Vied: Compete eagerly with someone in order to do or achieve something

Quotes:

A crow cried from the top of a telegraph pole. Caw, caw, caw, caw, it called, sounding just like a crow. Its voice seemed a bit more carefree than when I heard crows during the daytime.

In loneliness I have drifted this long way, alone. My torn and shabby robe could not keep out the cold. And tonight the sky was so clear, it made my heart ache all the more.