A Hundred Years and a Day: 34 Stories
by Tomoka Shibasaki translated from Japanese by Polly Barton
ISBN 9798988688730
Published by Stone Bridge Press
This is a quiet yet lovely book. One the one hand, it can seem like nothing much is happening in these stories, but on the other, everything happens. There are no cinematic storylines here, but each story is the story of a life or lives--ordinary people moving through days, weeks, months, years. Time passes. There are connections and disconnections between people, people and objects, or people and places. Memories resurface. Things change. People change. Places change. Relationships change. As they do for all of us. The excellent writing is very matter-of-fact. I stopped at times to admire sentences and descriptions. For instance, one character is described as feeling like he was disconnected from his own life and leasing space in a different person's body. The stories are straightforward, but no less powerful for that.
I've not read any of Shibasaki's previous work, but I definitely want to now. In some ways, these stories reminded me a bit of the kinds of short stories Lydia Davis writes, so if you're a fan of hers, or of short stories in general, I can highly recommend this collection. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time and I'm delighted to have read it.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a DRC.
8 comments:
I'm not familiar with this author nor Lydia Davis. I love how you describe this as a quiet book. Thanks for the recommendation. I hope you're having a good week.
I only discovered Lydia Davis a couple years ago when I reviewed her latest short story collection--I do love a good short story collection :-) Some of her stories are just a sentence or two long. She also looks at moments in ordinary life. Shibasaki's stories cover longer time periods--those small moments that, when strung together, make up our lives.
The week is good so far! Hope the same is true for you!
“A quiet yet lovely book” - what a delightful turn of phrase, Shari. I have no doubt that you are “quiet yet lovely” yourself. Your reviews are always skillfully crafted and lead our feet to the library.
Thank you, David! I am thrilled to know that my bookish thoughts lead people to the library! Love, love, love libraries :-)
Many thanks for your review and recommendation.
All the best Jan
This is a new to me author, I think I'd love the book Going to look for a copy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about it.
Sounds beautiful and very affecting. I love books where it seems on the surface as though very little is happening, and yet underneath the emotions are running deep. I've made a note of it - thanks for the review!
Happy reading!
Post a Comment