The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino by Hiromi KawakamiMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
For me this novel was not as good as Strange Weather in Tokyo but I still enjoyed the read. Like Strange Weather it address the difficulties of modern relationships. 10 women give their story of their relationship with Nishino at different stages of his life. These are not rendered chronologically . We never really hear him, his voice and in many ways we and many /all? of the women never really knew him , nor understood him. They all break away from him even though he would appear to be a 'catch'. They say he doesn't want commitment, but perhaps it is the women who are commitment phobes?, some are only after sex, some are not really interested in Nishino the person, but he does leave his mark on them all.
I like Kawakami's writing style, sparse, simple, deep, thought provoking. Her stories stay with me.
Another of her short story collections is appearing in translation later this year Dragon Palace
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