A review by sisa_moyo
Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto

“Newlywed” about a man who misses his stop on the train and has a thought provoking meeting with a maybe magical being.

"Lizard" centers a man who falls utterly in love with Lizard who has powers and they navigate their traumatic childhoods

"Helix" about a man who’s girlfriend plans to go on a retreat to have unnecessarily memories erased from her mind.

"Dreaming of Kimchee" a woman moves away from her sister as she marries the man she was in an affair with and they dream about Kimchi.

"Blood and Water" a girl raised in a secluded Buddhist village runs away to Tokyo where she meets her lover who makes amulets.

"A Strange Tale from Down by the River" a former a former sex addict and her fiancés apartment by the ominous river, as she is visited by her past. 

Absolutely love every single story in this collection, Yoshimoto’s writing is so simple, understandable and so hypnotisingly lyrical. The themes of fate, time, healing, memory and a love that complements the self throughout the stories are so beautifully threaded. 

My first of Yoshimoto’s work and excited to read more.