Welcome to Litsy!

Originally published in chapters in a monthly literary journal in 1978-79, this quiet Japanese novel follows a year in the life of a sleep-deprived mother and her child after her husband leaves her. She is not always a good mother, but she does her best. I could relate to her failings, like when she left it to the very last minute to invite guests to her daughter‘s 3rd birthday. The subtle power of this story crept up on me. #womenintranslation

The apartment had windows on all sides.
I spent a year there, with my little daughter, on the top floor of an old four-storey office building. We had the whole fourth floor to ourselves, plus the rooftop terrace.

This Japanese book explains the story about a woman who has been recently separated , and how her new life begins with her 2-3 years old daughter .
During one year, passing over through the 4 seasons, they live in her new sunny apartment, and she explains her feelings, new way of live and love that she gets being a single mum.

#Alphabetgame
#LetterT

They both die in the end
Territory of light
Twas the nightshift before Christmas
Thirteenth tale
The twins: men of violence
The house is haunted
The time of my life
Twenty love poem's

Under promoted women of Asia

#SavvySettings Day 1: There is a bit of #Courtroom drama here with the main characters needing mediation before they file for divorce. Review is forthcoming. Part of my #DecolonizeBookshelves2022 read.

#ItHadToBeYou Day 27: Definitely a taste of #UnrequitedLove in this poignant, heartbreaking novel of abandonment.

#NewYearsWhoDis 2022
#NYWD22

Reading your recommendation, Kay ( @kaysworld1 ), between locations while performing Daughter-Uber services for Mom. She always seems to return to the car just as I am reading the loveliest and most delicate of sentences, telling me the next destination when I need a quiet moment. This has a kind of melancholy that fills you with tender reflection. I‘m really enjoying it so far. Thank you for sharing it with me.

#14Books14Weeks2021 #9. A goodreads win from a while back, this has been lingering on my TBR stack. This challenge got me to clear it off my stack and I'm so glad I finally read it! A story Originally told in 12 standalone segments published in a magazineover 1 year. Taking place in the late 70s, This is the story of a young woman who separates from her husband seeking a divorce. She and her three-year-old daughter (cont in comments)

This book was a great little read.
There were parts that wound my up a bit when he husband was blaming her and how he didn't want to pay for the child but was trying open a business. I understand her struggles.

#femaleauthor #females #strongwomen #reading #readingmyownbooks #Japaneselife #currentlyreading #read #booknerd #bookworm

#summerbookmarkswap @JaneyWaneyB
Unfortunately I am a very boring person!
1: I'm currently reading a lot of books on Japan and it's authors, I don't like YA or Romance but other than that anything goes.
2: my all time favourite film is 5th Element, I'm a huge K drama, J drama, C drama fan.
3: Favourite singer Hiroomi Tosaka
4: My favourite flowers are dasies.
5: My favourite animal is bear and otter.
⬇️ ⬇️⬇️

"and while the rooms were invariably dark, I began to sense a gleam in their darkness like that of an animal's eyes. There was something there glaring back at me. Although it scared me, I wanted to approach it."

It‘s spring. A young woman, left by her husband, starts a new life in a Tokyo apartment with their 2 year old thought. We follow of them over the next year. The book focuses on the everyday things like going to work, working, getting your kid to daycare, raising a kid by yourself, getting along with your neighbors and how to treat your (ex-)husband.

That glimpse of greenery was precious to me. It was the centerpiece of the view from the window.
‘That? Why, that‘s the Bois de Boulogne,‘ I answered whenever a visitor asked. The name of the wood on the outskirts of Paris had stuck in my mind, like Bremen or Flanders, some place named in a fairy tale, and it was kind of fun just to let it trip off my tongue.

(I love Paris so any reference to it in novels makes my happy)

Set in Toyko. A mother and her 3-year-old daughter navigate life in the first year of separation from her husband. Unsettling, atmospheric, sharp edges. Episodic (originally published in 1970s in a magazine as a monthly series). Protagonist under strain, selfish but surviving. Good mom, bad mom. Single parenting in patriarchal society. More imagery than narrative. 1979

I really liked the writing I this book. The description and sense of setting was very strong and I really felt like I was in the story. I feel like the lack of an actual plot made it hard to get through and a bit slow for me. I would have liked some more tension in the writing and something to power the book to the end.

Beautifully and lyrically written, this was a hard one for me to read. The mother/daughter relationship was so close to home.
Dark, tragic story of a woman who decides to leave her husband. She takes her daughter and begins looking for a new apartment. Her husband believes she will come back, and helps her look.
Fantastic read that will haunt you.

Re Released with a new, much better cover. Subtle... unique.....a story of a mother and daughter, losing your grip on reality. Not easy to read but so good so far....

Set in Toyko about a woman and her 3yr old daughter in the first year of separation from her husband. Told and originally published as a serial in 12 parts following the year/seasons.

Hi, litsy! Been a long time with life and school. Going to try to keep better track of what I'm reading.

Didn't pick this book for the cover, but probably would have if I'd seen it first. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's pearlescent and luminous, the perfect fit for the title.

Incidentally, I'm really enjoying this japanese slice of life break from my normal kidlit reading ;)

This was an odd book for sure, it‘s hard to describe. A woman who never intended to get divorced finds herself trying to embrace her new life in a strange, very brightly lit apartment, and to help her young daughter navigate what‘s happening to them. It was quirky, introspective, unsettling at times, hopeful in a strange way. I recommend it if you want something short, thoughtful and original

I love short melancholy Japanese novels by women and I‘ve heard great things about this one, very excited.

An interesting little book that explores divorce, loneliness and the sense of self. #ARC

(a Goodreads giveaway)

Accidentally made this a blurb instead of a review, ah well. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤘🏼

Got this as an ARC. Can't say I loved it, but it did make me feel

Set in Tokyo, this is a gently paced story told by a young woman who has split from her husband and is trying to raise a toddler on her own. I‘m not a parent, but I could feel her frustration and would cringe when she made selfish choices. The retellings of her dreams and moments of pure joy with her daughter were my favorite parts. I hope that those who find their way to this book will enjoy it as much as I did. Out 2/12/19 #24in48

Waiting for dinner and starting on a nice, short book. #24in48

I have been enjoying a trend of shorter novels by female Japanese authors translated into English. This one was originally published in serial form to feel like real time, chronicling the year a young woman with a daughter has to navigate suddenly becoming a single parent. The descriptions of the structures and people are unsettling but also familiar.

eARC from publisher, out 12 February 2019.

This novel was originally written & published in monthly installments over a year. Reading in one sitting you feel it‘s resonance but I think reading it as published would create a more ruminative experience. Both revel different aspects to this gem of a novella

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this slim exquisitely written novel very much.
The narrator is a recently seperated mother trying her best to cope with her adorably naughty three year old daughter. In certain ways this reminded me of The Long Take in terms of the focus on light. The image of the red kitchen floor and silver roof reflecting dazzling light, the neon signs and fireworks as well as the intense mother daughter relationship will stay with me.

Fresh #bookmail—slim but dense

#TBRtemptation post!

"Territory of Light is the luminous story of a young woman, living alone in Tokyo with her three-year-old daughter. Its twelve, stand-alone fragments follow the first year of her separation from her husband. The novel is full of light, sometimes comforting and sometimes dangerous: sunlight streaming through windows, dappled light in the park, distant fireworks, dazzling floodwater, desaturated streetlamps..."