People from My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami

 

Pocket size book

A bossy child who lives under a white cloth near a t­ree; a schoolgirl who keeps doll’s brains in a desk drawer; an old man with two shadows, one docile and one rebellious; a diplomat no one has ever seen who goes fishing at an artificial lake no one has ever heard of. These are some of the inhabitants of People From My Neighborhood. In their lives, details of the local and everyday—the lunch menu at a tiny drinking place called the Love, the color and shape of the roof of the tax office—slip into accounts of duels, prophetic dreams, revolutions, and visitations from ghosts and gods. In twenty-six “palm of the hand” stories—fictions small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand—Hiromi Kawakami creates a universe ruled by mystery and transformation.

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 Author : Hiromi Kawakami

Published year : 2020

Origin languange : Japanese

Genre : Short Stories, Fiction

Pages : 121

Publisher:  Granta

This is a book that made me fall in love at the first sight because of the cover. The pink shade, cherry blossoms at the front, and house illustration bring back memories of Japan. I always have good memories while in Japan, so this book has drawn me personally. The pocket-size is also one of the main attractions. It is a book we can finish during one to two hours read.  

The short stories collection is about people who live in the author's neighborhood. Each story is intertwined and creates a warm and fuzzy feeling when reading it.

The unnamed protagonist is a girl or a woman who lives in a very diverse culture and background. There, The Love cafe stood which struggle with the menu and the taste. There is a taxi driver who lives in a tenement, a family who came from America and has an American name, and there is also an unconventional story about a man who has two shadows, a day without gravitation, doll brains that kept by a girl.

There are also names repeated several times. Kanae, the protagonist's friend, Kanae's sister, the headmaster of dog school, and many more.

When reading into Kawakami's world, there is no boundary to separate between what is real and surreal. Just like Ten love of Mr. Nishino, the central story is not the protagonist, but what's happened to surround her/him. Sometimes, feel normal neighbor, or sometimes, it's outrageous.

But her forte is the beautiful prose that delivers a funny and warm feeling. She writes about our heart, our myth, and how the earth shifts slowly and clouds our mood. One story that I think is hilarious; Pigeonitis. A disease that suddenly comes to the neighbor and changes the sick person into a pigeon-like, slowly.

Yet, I don't understand some (or many?) her surreal stories. It is very peculiar that escaping my understanding, completely. It's okay though, I think many persons didn't understand also but we can enjoy the prose. 

There are 36 short stories in the book and enough to satisfy our thirst to read the renowned work of Kawakami-san!