Rating: 
Summary: I love you, babe
Review: Many folks reviewing this book seem to think that this book is a recent addition to the writings of Yoshimoto, but in fact it was written in 1989. So Yoshimoto was 25 when she wrote it. I'm just glad that no one is comparing it to Mishima... Anyway, this book stars a young 19 year old girl named Maria who has just left her seaside home to go to Tokyo. Her father and her mother having just gotten married. okay that might have made a few of you pause. 19? just getting married, yep. Maria's mother was her father's mistress and after a long divorce they are finally able to live as a family, so is this a domestic drama? No, the real story begins when Maria goes back to the seaside inn that her aunt and uncle own, and back to her cousin Tsugumi. Obviously as one can tell by the title of the book, Tsugumi is the true main character of the book. Tsugumi is not the niceset of girls. Afflicted with a weak constitution, Tsugumi was completely spoiled by her family, including Maria and Tsugumi's older sister Yoko, but instead of being grateful Tsugumi is a quite a cruel person, but also one possessing great beauty and emotion. This is a really good book, and those who are fans of Yoshimoto's wriitings will enjoy it. If you are looking for a female Mishima, go look somewhere else.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely Prose
Review: Reading Yoshimoto is a good counter to the Philip Roth I've been reading lately. Whereas Roth's prose is energetic and in-your-face, Yoshimoto's flows like a gentle stream. Even the little tirades of Tsugumi, Yoshimoto's bratty title character, has nothing of the unsettling energy of a character like Roth's Portnoy. Instead, Yoshimoto's stories have a beauty that is almost ethereal. Granted, I have yet to be moved as much as I was by Yoshimoto's first novel, Kitchen. Still, this novel came close.It is the story of a young woman, Tsugumi, who has been dying since the day she was born from some unnamed illness. Except that she continues to live despite occasional lapses into sickness. But her seeming physical weakness and poor health has made all those around her cater to her relentlessly and she has grown into a spoiled and mean young woman. The story is told by Maria, a friend of Tsugumi's. Through Maria's eyes we see Tsugumi's petty cruelties but also her capacity for love and an incredible inner strength that keeps her alive, inspiring Maria to accept the challenges of her own life. In some ways, Tsugumi is one of the most interesting characters Yoshimoto has created. And she avoids many of the cliches that often seem to inhabit books where a key character is facing death. Once again, Yoshimoto has created a slim volume of incredible beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely Prose
Review: Reading Yoshimoto is a good counter to the Philip Roth I've been reading lately. Whereas Roth's prose is energetic and in-your-face, Yoshimoto's flows like a gentle stream. Even the little tirades of Tsugumi, Yoshimoto's bratty title character, has nothing of the unsettling energy of a character like Roth's Portnoy. Instead, Yoshimoto's stories have a beauty that is almost ethereal. Granted, I have yet to be moved as much as I was by Yoshimoto's first novel, Kitchen. Still, this novel came close. It is the story of a young woman, Tsugumi, who has been dying since the day she was born from some unnamed illness. Except that she continues to live despite occasional lapses into sickness. But her seeming physical weakness and poor health has made all those around her cater to her relentlessly and she has grown into a spoiled and mean young woman. The story is told by Maria, a friend of Tsugumi's. Through Maria's eyes we see Tsugumi's petty cruelties but also her capacity for love and an incredible inner strength that keeps her alive, inspiring Maria to accept the challenges of her own life. In some ways, Tsugumi is one of the most interesting characters Yoshimoto has created. And she avoids many of the cliches that often seem to inhabit books where a key character is facing death. Once again, Yoshimoto has created a slim volume of incredible beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely Writing That's Seemingly Effortless
Review: When I read KITCHEN a few years ago, I fell in love with the writing of Banana Yoshimoto. It's fluid, seemingly effortless and totally without pretense of any kind. Although Banana Yoshimoto's books seem to be written for people in their early to mid-twenties, if you're older (even quite a bit older) don't let the "youthfulness" of Yoshimoto's books keep you away from them. They are centered around beautiful and timeless themes and emotions that any adult, regardless of his or her age, can easily relate to. If you're not so young anymore, then the book will be all that more poignant, causing you to revisit the emotions and uncertainties you had in your youth. GOODBYE TSUGUMI, which I liked slightly less than KITCHEN (but this doesn't mean it's an inferior book, by any means) is narrated by Maria Shirakawa, a nineteen-year-old girl whose parents aren't married. Well, not to each other, at least. Maria's father is married, but not to Maria's mother. Maria lives with her mother and her mother's family in a village by the sea. Maria definitely doesn't mind being a "love child." In fact, she thinks the whole idea is kind of romantic, something that only adds to her very lovable quirkiness. The book centers around a bittersweet summer Maria spends with her cousin, Tsugumi Yamamoto, before Maria and her mother move to Tokyo and Maria begins college. Tsugumi is nothing at all like Maria. Maria is sweet, Tsugumi is bitter. Maria is kind, Tsugumi is malicious. Maria is generous, Tsugumi is selfish. Maria is innocent, Tsugumi is spoiled. Maria is healthy, in body and in spirit, Tsugumi is an invalid. Maria isn't perfect...she gets angry with Tsugumi at times, but she does love her and, I think, she understands her. The plot of GOODBYE TSUGUMI revolves around the relationship between Maria and Tsugumi and the summer they spend at Tsugumi's family's seaside inn. Tsugumi's family intends on closing the inn and moving to the mountains, so this will be the last summer Maria can ever spend there. And, when Tsugumi becomes too involved with her first love, Kyoichi, it might mean Tsugumi's last summer...period. The plot might sound simple-and simplistic-but it is anything but. In fact, when things really get going, they tend to drift into the bizarre...but just a bit...and Yoshimoto's writing is so beautiful and so believable that I think she could write about anything at all and still make us care. Banana Yoshimoto's characters are all individuals and they are all very much alive. No cardboard cutouts here. It's easy to like them because we know them and Yoshimoto does such a good job of bringing out the universal in them that it's easy to empathize with them even if, like Tsugumi, they don't always have the sweetest of personalities. I know several people who dismiss Banana Yoshimoto as "too sweet," "too sentimental," or even "too juvenile." To me, she's none of these things. She's artless. She's honest. She's ingenuous and sincere. I've never read writing like hers. Every time I read one of her books, I feel I know myself a little better and I come away from the book feeling better about everything...the world, the people who inhabit it, myself, life in general. That's the effect Banana Yoshimoto has on readers. While I think KITCHEN is a slightly better book than GOODBYE TSUGUMI, I would still recommend this book to anyone...young or not so young. It won't cure all your problems, but whatever those problems are, Banana Yoshimoto will take the sting out them...at least a little bit, for a little while.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Wistful, melancholy, full of beautiful emotions and imagery that I can relate to. I gave Banana another chance after reading Lizard which was horrible, and I'm sure glad that I did. I really enjoyed this book in and of itself and on top of that it evoked old memories that I haven't thought about in a long time. I am glad to be reading this novel as one part of my life draws to a close and a new one begins.
Rating:
Summary: A delicate character study
Review: Yoshimoto's novels have often been called "charming," and GOODBYE TSUGUMI is no different. Maria, the illegitimate daughter of a Tokyo businessman, grew up in a Japanese seaside resort alongside her two cousins, Yoko and Tsugumi. While Yoko is sensitive and gentle, Tsugumi is everthing but. Frail of health, delicate in beauty, Tsugumi is an abrasive, selfish girl whom, oddly, Maria understands. Most of the novel takes place during a particular summer, when the girls have become young women and their lives have begun to take different directions. This slim novel is mainly a character study, but I found the scenes within quietly engaging. I never once considered putting this book aside to start another. Although you won't find much plot here, the often uneasy relationship between Maria and Tsugumi holds the story together. The only false note Yoshimoto hits comes in the closing pages. This novel may not be the author's best, but its delicacy and skill must still be admired. I recommend this novel for those who enjoy contemporary Asian literature - particularly Yoshimoto's earlier works - as well as for readers of character driven fiction. Because of its brevity and ease of reading, it makes a good rainy afternoon or commuter book. You won't find the complexity of Murakami or the stark emotion of Oe. Instead, Yoshimoto's strength lies in the exploration of the often quiet connections between people.
Rating:
Summary: A delicate character study
Review: Yoshimoto's novels have often been called "charming," and GOODBYE TSUGUMI is no different. Maria, the illegitimate daughter of a Tokyo businessman, grew up in a Japanese seaside resort alongside her two cousins, Yoko and Tsugumi. While Yoko is sensitive and gentle, Tsugumi is everthing but. Frail of health, delicate in beauty, Tsugumi is an abrasive, selfish girl whom, oddly, Maria understands. Most of the novel takes place during a particular summer, when the girls have become young women and their lives have begun to take different directions. This slim novel is mainly a character study, but I found the scenes within quietly engaging. I never once considered putting this book aside to start another. Although you won't find much plot here, the often uneasy relationship between Maria and Tsugumi holds the story together. The only false note Yoshimoto hits comes in the closing pages. This novel may not be the author's best, but its delicacy and skill must still be admired. I recommend this novel for those who enjoy contemporary Asian literature - particularly Yoshimoto's earlier works - as well as for readers of character driven fiction. Because of its brevity and ease of reading, it makes a good rainy afternoon or commuter book. You won't find the complexity of Murakami or the stark emotion of Oe. Instead, Yoshimoto's strength lies in the exploration of the often quiet connections between people.
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