Welcome to Read this Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that needs to jump onto your TBR pile! These books come from all sorts of different genres and age ranges.
It’s Women in Translation Month! Founded by Meytal Radzinski, Women in Translation Month encourages readers to pick up more books by women in translation. To celebrate, a couple friends and I host the #WITreadathon to give readers fun ways to discuss the books they are reading in honor of the occasion.
The first novel that I picked up for the occasion was one from the prolific Japanese author Yūko Tsushima whose novels often focus on single motherhood and the unique societal challenges these mothers face.
Woman Running in the Mountains by Yūko Tsushima, Translated by Geraldine Harcourt
In 1980s Tokyo, Takiko arrives at the hospital all alone to have her baby. She often finds herself repeating, “No, I have no husband” as the nurses repeatedly inquire as to why she is alone. After her son is born, Takiko faces an uphill battle as a working class single mother trying to escape her family’s suffocating home. Her father is often physically abusive and refuses to get a job, leaving Takiko’s mother to financially support their family.
Takiko feels determined to leave her parents house and make it on her own. But neverending logistics around childcare, healthcare, and finances repeatedly seem to make her goal of leaving her parents’ household farther and farther away. She moves from job to job, struggling to find something that will work with her daycare’s hours and the various doctor’s visits her son needs with his ongoing health issues.
Tsushima uses imagery around light to communicate her protagonist’s desire for independence and freedom from societal expectations.Takiko constantly feels that society wants her to give up everything, even her own personal identity, for her son. But Takiko believes she will be a better person — a better mother — if she still holds onto her sense of self.
The translation is incredible, and I often paused at the beautiful prose. And ever since I finished the novel, I haven’t been able to get Takiko’s story out of my mind. I will definitely be picking up more of Tsushima’s work in the future.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave or over on Instagram @kdwinchester. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy reading, Friends!
~ Kendra