Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Goodbye Tsugumi

yoshimoto once again proves that she's the it writer for me, w/ how she so masterfully encapsulates in goodbye tsugumi nostalgia, longing, the bittersweetness of parting, as well as the small moments and details that define and impact one's life.

though some notable things do occur, the novel is mostly comprised of everyday moments from an idyll summer, thus while it is relaxing to read at the time, it can make the book forgettable plot-wise, however i think yoshimoto strives to achieve a certain tone and feeling more than focus on plot. and while i do get where tsugumi's coming from, she still irks me w/ her abusive ways; like it doesnt hurt to be a nicer person??

the climax, meanwhile, is tense yet cliche, non-stereotypical yet baity at the same time, and i have mixed feelings w/ it along w/ the new english title that invites misunderstanding. from my non-japanese-speaking POV, however, the book does come across as seamlessly translated.

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queenkath32's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

4.0

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ijk_'s review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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sleepyriv's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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spookfish's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

I was fully transported whilst reading this book, I felt I could see, hear, smell, feel all that was being described. This deep sense of melancholy really sunk into me, but not in an uncomfortable way.
The things Maria describes are experiences I think a lot of people have had, and the writing perfectly captures the emotions of those moments.

Now that spring was drawing near, and each day was warmer than the last, and now we were finally going to leave, all the everyday, nothing-special scenes I was so used to seeing, like the ageing corridors of the inn, and all those swarms of bugs that gathered in the light of the sign out front, and the poles where we hung laundry, where spiders liked to spin their webs and beyond which the mountains jutted up . . . suddenly all of these hit me harder, with greater clarity. The inn seemed bathed in a haze of light.

And it seemed to me that even if you weren't actively letting your emotions ride its surface, the ocean still went on giving you something, teaching you some sort of lesson. Perhaps that was why I had never actually considered its existence before—never really thought about the thundering of the waves as they sweep in endlessly toward the shore. But since I was thinking about it, what on earth did people in the city turn to when they felt the need to reckon with "balance"? Maybe the moon? That seemed like the obvious choice. But then the moon was so small and far away, and something about it felt sort of lonely, and it didn't seem like it would really help . . .

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olieander's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

3.5-4.0
change will come and we can welcome it with open arms :) memories of our childhood will stay within us even as we change and leave and grow apart.

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angrybookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

There is something so beautifully simple about Banana Yoshimoto's writing that really brings out the genuine feelings of living. From the beginning of the story you think you know how it's going to end, and it sort of does end that way but it sort of doesn't. The characters are very forward in this story, which I usually would think takes away from telling a story like this but instead it highlights the importance of what they say to each other. At it's core, this is a story about cousins and sisters being girls together. We see a love story come to life in front of us, and watch the trials of it from the outside, while still getting all of the feelings of being young adults, teenagers really during the summer with the people you care about. It's about starting over and going back and knowing how to move forward without losing your roots and I cried three times because I have never seen all of these feelings captured so accurately in a book before.

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major_tom's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It's a slow and emotional ride, which I greatly enjoyed. It was interesting to see so much character analysis in such a small book. While reading, I could imagine the protagonist sitting there and recollecting her eventful summer in a fish town, where she got to glimpse inside the soul of someone quite unfortunate.

I liked how my perception of the story changed as the plot developed further; I was hard to predict such a big change given how slow and reflective the pacing is.

This book will not be enjoyed by everyone, but I think it's a nice read.

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