Gifted
Published on 24. October 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
112 pages
978-1-915590-78-7 (ISBN)
Description
A moving portrayal of a troubled mother-daughter relationship, shortlisted for Japan's prestigious Akutagawa Prize.
In 2008, the unnamed narrator of Gifted is working as a hostess and living in Tokyo's nightlife district. One day, her estranged mother, who is seriously ill, suddenly turns up at her door.
As the mother approaches the end of her life, the two women must navigate their strained relationship, while the narrator also reckons with events happening in her own life, including the death of a close friend - all under the bright lights of Tokyo's 'sleepless town', Kabukicho.
In sharp, elegant prose, and based on the author's own experiences as a sex worker, Gifted heralds the breakthrough of an exciting new literary talent.
In 2008, the unnamed narrator of Gifted is working as a hostess and living in Tokyo's nightlife district. One day, her estranged mother, who is seriously ill, suddenly turns up at her door.
As the mother approaches the end of her life, the two women must navigate their strained relationship, while the narrator also reckons with events happening in her own life, including the death of a close friend - all under the bright lights of Tokyo's 'sleepless town', Kabukicho.
In sharp, elegant prose, and based on the author's own experiences as a sex worker, Gifted heralds the breakthrough of an exciting new literary talent.
Reviews / Votes
'In this unsentimental novella, a young woman working as a bar hostess and sex worker in Tokyo reckons with several unresolved personal traumas ... Based on Suzuki's own experiences in the adult industry, the book chronicles the young woman's wanderings from bar to bar, hospital to home, with brutal honesty.' * The New Yorker * 'Demonstrates that death is the only way forward. Oozes with maternal cruelty.' -- Yoko Ogawa, author of <i>The Memory Police</i> 'Gifted lyrically captures a moment in time, unwrapping the bittersweet denouement in a fraught relationship between a mother and daughter.' -- Kris Kosaka * Japan Times * 'Gifted explores beauty, and the body itself, as a troubling inheritance, a complicated gift that, at least for women, belongs to you but is never fully in your control.' -- Rebecca Hussey * Words Without Borders * 'There is a vigilance in her sentences. The author takes responsibility for every word.' -- Shuichi Yoshidan author of <i>Parade</i> 'A unique and propulsive story reminiscent of the emotional elusiveness of Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman ... With a style both clinical and aloof, the novella unfolds a heartbreaking story about the distance and closeness between mother and daughter.' * Asian Review of Books * 'Suzuki's writing is like a blade wrapped in silk ... She tackles heavy themes like sexual violence, mental illness, and the objectification of women with grace ... It's heavy, unsettling, but also hauntingly beautiful and absolutely worth the emotional rollercoaster.' * Inked Thoughts * 'A gleaming pocket knife of a novel stabbing into the heart of maternal abuse, inherited trauma, and the cyclical nature of sex work. With stylistic confidence and an unforgiving gaze, Suzumi Suzuki slashes through ideas of forgiveness and growth while razing a path forward only possible through demise.' -- Mathuson Anthony * Book Club Bar (New York City, NY) * 'Explores a fascinating Japanese subculture missing from the many translated novels we've seen recently from Japanese authors. That the novel and protagonist are based on the author's own life gives Gifted an added layer of interest.' -- Grace Sullivan * Fountain Bookstore (Richmond, VA) *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
With flaps
Dimensions
Height: 192 mm
Width: 133 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
126 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-915590-78-7 (9781915590787)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Suzumi Suzuki is an acclaimed Japanese sociologist and columnist. She graduated from Keio University majoring in Environment and Information Studies, and later received a master's degree from Tokyo University. She worked as an adult video actress before becoming a journalist for Nikkei Inc. She is also the author of Sell Your Body, and It's Goodbye (2016), Flowers for Love and the Womb (2017), A Prostitute's Bookshelf (2022), and Letters of Correspondence (2021), co-written with Japan's most acclaimed feminist scholar Chizuko Ueno. Gifted is her debut novel.
Allison Markin Powell is a literary translator, editor, and publishing consultant. She received the 2020 PEN America Translation Prize for The Ten Loves of Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami. Her other translations include works by Osamu Dazai, Kanako Nishi, and Ryunosuke Akutagawa.
Allison Markin Powell is a literary translator, editor, and publishing consultant. She received the 2020 PEN America Translation Prize for The Ten Loves of Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami. Her other translations include works by Osamu Dazai, Kanako Nishi, and Ryunosuke Akutagawa.