Amrita

Rating:
Summary: review of 'amrita'
Review: 'Sometimes I get really jealous of Kozumi. Sure, he appears to be unhappy, but he still has all those wonderful memories of being with his family. He has a mother who remembers well. He was brought up in a world where there was no reason to be frightened or worried. He has memories of...of...' Sakeso paused for a moment and then stated in English, '..being fed.'

'Amrita' portrays the lives of a young Tokyo lady (Sakumi) and the people around her. Following the death of her sister Mayu, Sakumi falls and injures her head and experiences a partial loss of memory. She later falls in love with Ryuichiro, who was Mayu's boyfriend. Meanwhile her younger brother Yoshio develops psychic powers...

This book is about the experiences of young adults growing up to discover themselves and to cope with everyday life. Death, fears, loneliness, love, and daily existence are some of the themes embodied in this novel.While being much longer than other Banana Yoshimoto works as some have criticised, 'Amrita' offers a rich spectrum of musings on life and death, love, and other fundamental issues pertaining to existence. It questions the reader's perceptions and offers possibilities. It is therapeautic, consoling, hopeful and life-affirming.

It is true that 'Kitchen' is perhaps Banana Yoshimoto's best work as reviewed by most people (including myself), but this book should not be missed because it has its own merits and beauty, and some of its themes are very different.

This book is very strongly recommended for all young adults. In fact I would recommend they read 'Kitchen' and 'Asleep' too. Readers who are too familiar with Banana Yoshimoto's shorter works should practice patience with this one, for it is definitely worthwhile and rewarding.

This book, however, is NOT recommended for readers who have already formulated their world views and been through most of life. They would find it naive as Banana Yoshimoto herself finds it too. Reviewers and critics must be aware of who Banana Yoshimoto is writing for before they make harsh judgements on her writings.

Before getting this book, I was a bit saddened by the numerous negative reviews on 'Amrita' that I've seen. They almost succeeded in discouraging me from getting this book. But now that I've bought and read it, I find it one of my most rewarding reads.

All in all, it is an excellent read for young adults trying to make sense of the world and searching for the meaning of existence.

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Summary: A magical world of self-discovery!
Review: Banana Yoshimoto is -- by no stretch of doubt -- a gifted storyteller. She's also one of the best fiction writers today. Her stories are filled with eccentricity and magic. Amrita is not an exception.

The story is about Sakumi, a young woman who loses her memory after having lost her famous sister to suicide. With the help of her sister's lover, she is able to regain her memory, but she gets more than she bargains for. Like her previous efforts, Yoshimoto's focal point in this novel is self-discovery.

This is, by far, her best work since "Kitchen." I marvel at Banana's ability to touch people with her beautiful writing. A must-read!

Rating:
Summary: Amrita - The Water of God
Review: Banana Yoshimoto is an excellent storyteller. I can say she's my favorite author. I'm writing a review for a book report, and Banana's style of writing is not new to me, because I've read many other books of hers. This book in particular has amazed me because of the whole idea of the book. Banana has a rather out of the ordinary imagination, but at the same time, very meaningful and passionate. It's extraordinary how Banana describes Sakumi's (the narrator's) feelings about her younger sister's death and how she lost her memory when she smashed her head falling down the stairs. Banana centers her main idea and starting point of her books on atleast one death that bring the characters in the story to show their feelings about it and come together in a unison. Like in Amrita, Sakumi has suffered from the loss of her younger sister, Mayu, in a car accident, and when she lost her memory, she realized how her sister was important to her and what her sister truly meant for her. Sakumi afterwards falls in love with Ryuichiro, Mayu's lover. Ryuichiro is a cult writer and goes around the world in search for new ideas and materials to write his next novel. At one point in the story, he asked Sakumi to go with him to the island of Saipan to meet some very special friends of his. Sakumi falls in love for the gorgeous landscape of the ocean. Yoshio, Sakumi's younger brother, came over to Saipan also, after some problems with school. Sakumi was worried about him because he was developing super-natural powers and couldn't get along with other kids in regular school, so she invited him to enjoy the beautiful landscape along with her. Banana describes her characters and places like a lyric poem, with a fine mixture of adjectives. This talent has struck me deeply and I could picture Saipan in my mind. Banana also chooses some very interesting titles for her book. The word Amrita comes the old Sanskrit word "amrta", and it is a divine nectar, something the gods indulged. When they drank this liquid, they actually achieved life. Throughout the book, the reader will surely understand why. This is a brilliant and capturing book and I loved it. I leave it to you now to reveal the secret.

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Summary: metaphysicalization
Review: believe me, no one is as big a banana yoshimoto fan as i am. i have all her books -- most of them in japanese, of course -- and whenever i read something she's said, i feel like -- no, i KNOW -- i'm the only person on the face of the earth who understands it the way she wants me to understand it. so, when i say that this book only deserves four stars as opposed to five, you can best believe that i have a good reason to say so.

the problem with amrita, while it starts out strong and even mysterious (why is sakumi telling us the same things in chapter one that she told us in the progloue?), is that it can't keep up its momentum in later chapters. in yoshimoto's afterword, she seems apologetic about how long the book is -- even more apologetic in the japanese version -- which, i guess, is her own way of commenting on how tedious the book becomes.

i for one always enjoy miss banana's spirituality, natural imagery, and metaphysicalization (if there is such a word) of everyday life, and amrita goes leaps and bounds beyond kitchen, n.p., tsugumi, and even lizard in its abstractions, which i can only welcome, as most yoshimoto fans probably will too.

however! those who are new to yoshimoto's style are usually suggested a reading of kitchen or lizard. i would like to say that i enjoyed amrita, in many respects, more than yoshimoto's other works, yet i would still suggest reading kitchen or lizard if you've never read anything by yoshimoto -- while her "prose" is "simple" and "lucid," as the critics might say, that doesn't mean it's for everybody. some people i know -- disavowed friends of mine, by the way -- have called yoshimoto's narrators "whiny." if, perhaps, you might feel the same way, well, you'd probably hate the book. oh, now i've gone and confused myself.

anyway, what connects yoshimoto with so many people is probably her ability to write a story that can make people feel as if they are the only person in the world who understands it the way it's meant to be understood. however she accomplishes this monumental task, she makes it seem so easy, with her simplistic, natural dialogue and focus on somewhat trivial details -- leave it to a yoshimoto heroine to liken some aspect of the human mind to a game of tetris. hmm. if only i could find a way to write such universally-appealing yet multi-faceted, lighthearted yet serious fiction. oh well. i guess i'll just stick to existential satire.

toward the end, however, like i said, yoshimoto's themes of lesbianism, psychic powers, regret, and starting over seem too forced. well, maybe "forced" is kind of harsh. let's just say they seem "manga-esque." not like that's always a bad thing... still. when sakumi's brother is confronted by a powerful psychic named "mr. mesmer" and his ex-girlfriend "noodles," who hail from a school for psychically gifted youngsters, i couldnt help having flashbacks to my own days as a youngster, reading x-men comics, thinking of what a fantasic place professor xavier's school for mutants must have been.

as yoshimoto says, however, the whole idea of this book is not to focus on the extraordinary things, rather it is to focus on how everyday life continues on despite our being ready for it or not. and amrita, in all its long-windedness, gets this point across with harrowing clarity. you'll see what i mean. still, in my opinion, these were themes better explored in yoshimoto's own "moonlight shadow" (still my favorite yoshimoto work yet), "a strange tale from down the river," and even "kitchen." at least that's what i gather.

hmm... the only reason i decided to write this review was because i wanted to mention that, in the two-volume japanese edition, the chapters are all titled rather than numbered, something wasden decided not to translate for some reason or another. oh well. the book still stands without chapter titles.

Rating:
Summary: Ho-Hum
Review: I tried my best to lose myself in this book but I just couldn't. It didn't captivate me as much as the other book by this author did. Perhaps it was a result of the long and stressful work week that hindered my reading of this book. I don't know. I think sometime in the future I'll have to give this book a second go.

Rating:
Summary: Not as sharp as other work, but worth reading
Review: I was persuaded to buy Yoshimoto's extremely long novel on the advice of a friend and the several enthusiastic reviews written by fellow amazonians. The two stars are for the creativity of the characters, especially Yoshio her talented younger brother.

Throughout the course of the novel, I was baffled by her idiotic questionings of virtually everything that came into her mind. "I wonder why the water level rises and sinks so often?" It's called the tide, my friend. Don't get a headache over that one. The main protagonist seems to ramble excessively about things which seem so personal that it is hard to feel myself become a part of the story.

In addition, I am not sure if the blame lies with the editor or the author, but how many times did she repeat herself in this overly long novel? I would finish a chapter and think to myself, "Didn't she say the EXACT same thing last chapter?" I would flip back to reveal that she in fact did. No wonder it flirts with the 500 page mark.

In fairness, the secondary characters were extremely convincing, and I found myself wishing that one of the would take over the telling of the story, because her narrator simply put me to sleep. If you are a fan of her writing, then I guess I would say enjoy it. If you are like me, went into this book on faith, save your dollars. In the end, it only leaves you feeling empty, like the circles she so often talks about were the only true thing in the entire book. Nothing but circles. What fun is that?

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Summary: a frightening, beautiful adventure in self-discovery
Review: This book pulled me in like none I had read before. Yoshimoto succeeds in making the reader part of the story, a story that can perhaps to some appear simplistic or uninteresting, but to others will certainly become magnetic as it recounts to them, through the unsophisticated yet magically beautiful words of a young Tokyo woman, their own most intimate experiences, thoughts, fears, hopes. Yoshimoto tells a story of self-discovery, and her great achievement lies in describing the simplest, everyday thoughts and feelings that most of us would be embarrassed to share with anyone for fear that they are too ordinary, that they are not profound enough, that they don't change the world. Yet Yoshimoto, by simply describing them, validates them, and makes them beautiful. Reading Amrita I was almost frightened by the image of myself that I saw in the pages. Unlike some other reviewers, I think that Amrita takes the unique, unpretentious narrative style developed in Kitchen and NP, and transforms it into a vehicle that takes the reader on an unforgettable, unpredictable journey. But it is a spiritual journey, a celebration of being human. In Amrita you won't find anything glamorous. The main character is a Japanese twenty-something who works in a neo-hippy bar and spends her time reading and watching TV. Her wisdom emerges in her reflections on the unusual world that surrounds her. Throughout the book, she remains a perfectly ordinary, typical person like any one of us. I am not surprised at the low ratings that some reviewers have given to this book. I can easily see how one might dislike it, not understand it. It is a perfect example of "either you hate it, or you love it." I love it. This book is very personal and if you can identify with Yoshimoto's voice, the young woman from Tokyo, you will be shaken to the core of your soul.

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Summary: You're beautiful Sakumi!
Review: This was the second time that i have read this book. First off those who compare Yoshimoto's writing to that of Mishima, Kawabata, and Tanizaki really shouldn't. Yoshimoto is writing from a completely different time, and she is not writting high literature here she is writing for mass consuption, mainly for Japanese females under 25. She even says that she is writing for the Shoujo audiance, young girl, and trys to emulate the writting style of Shoujo manga.

That aside, this is another enjoyable book by Yoshimoto. Although Kitchen will probably always be my favorite, I like this book much more than N.P., Lizard, or Asleep.

The story in this 366 page book, much longer than Yoshimoto's other books, is quite convoluted, but it is quite enjoyable. The story centers on Sakumi Wakabayashi, a young woman who lost her memory by hitting her head on a stone stair. Throughout this book we live with Sakumi and feel her depression over not remembering her life and the joy she feels when she does remember something from her past. We are also introduced to her younger brother Yoshi who seems to have supernaturtal powers. This is a really good book, and is a good example of modern Japanese literature, just don't go in expecting Snow Country or the Makioka Sisters.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent mix of the fantastic, paranormal, and odd
Review: Well, before I get influenced by any other reviews I wanted to give my two-bits worth. My first Yoshimoto Banana book. I was impressed by her ability to express sensations and feelings that we seldom have courage to bring to consciousness. Several times I found myself (especially towards the beginning) with that, 'wow, somebody else has felt that way too?' feeling. The things that meant the most to me in this book were the themes of remembering and loss. Her approach to these ideas, in a somewhat alternative, for lack of better terminology, way gave the book an expansive dimension, calling upon the reader to grow with her characters. I sensed, knowing a bit about the Japanese language, that there was a bit lost in the translation. I don't doubt that the translator was competent, but there were some points where simply the verbage could have been better and others where I felt the nuances of the original language were lost or even mis-expressed. Or maybe it was just my density. Anyway, I intend to read it again soon. And then probably again after that. A thoughtful, meaningful story.

Rating:
Summary: Amrita - The Water of God
Review: When I read this book for the first time I was a freshman in High School and I have read it many times since then. I am now a sophmore in High School. I have never been more touched by a book in my entire life. Yoshimoto draws her readers into her stories, draining us of our emotion. We get so wrapped up with her characters that we forget about our own lives. Her books have helped shape who I am and I think that is for the better. I recommend this book to everyone.