2005 book 114

banana yoshimoto's hardboiled & hard luck
here's a good example of an author who can tell a moving and powerful story in a small space. the first novella deals with a young woman who goes hiking and feels a strange sense of foreboding; later she recalls that it's the anniversary of a former lover's death, and later still she is haunted by a tragic figure. in the second novella, a different young woman struggles with the impending death of her brain-dead sister, and becomes entangled with the brother of her sister's fiance. i wish yoshimoto's works would get translated more promptly--this one was written in 1999 and some of the cultural references are a little bit dated. also, i don't want to have to wait another six years for her next book. :)