Banana Yoshimoto`s new book "Daisy`s Life" (Hinagiku no Jinsei) will delight her faithful Korean fans. She writes beautifully about the healing process of a girl who must grapple with one hurtful obstacle after another in a style that is subtle and nuanced.
"A lot of young people in Japan are stuck in a hopeless situation, and I guess the same is true in Korea. And things are getting worse, compared with 20 years ago when I first started writing," Yoshimoto said at a news conference in Seoul last week. "And I thought I should offer a message of healing through my writing for this particular period."
Originally published in 2000 in Japan, the Korean edition of Yoshimoto`s novel is a collaboration with Yoshimoto Nara, a renowned Japanese illustrator whose artworks are also widely known in Korea. The book contains 15 illustrations by Nara, including a minimalist book cover.
Yoshimoto said that she met with Nara frequently to work on the project, which resulted in an "intriguing" output in terms of literary worldview and creative processes. "I`m not good at writing a long feature-length novel but I can handle a new, merciless subject. In that regard, this novel was the perfect length for me," she said.
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The "merciless" aspect of the novel involves a broken neck, dreadful dreams, the death of a person in real life after appearing in a dream and other fantasy-driven details.
In the novel, the main character Daisy keeps encountering her childhood friend in her dream, and Yoshimoto said such a framework is intended to reflect a sense of uneasiness or frustration.
What`s puzzling for some readers is the positive impression of Daisy, at least at a surface level. "A quick look at Daisy might give you an impression that she`s leading a very sound life, but there are very dark aspects hidden inside her. And Nara`s paintings also offer two different feelings because they are at once cute and chilly," she said.
Yoshimoto said when she first put out the book, she had not predicted that the problems facing Japanese youth would worsen further. "Korea might be in a better position, but as far as Japan is concerned, I think things are very bad," she said.
Yoshimoto said her books might work as a medicine for young readers who go through difficult phases, adding that there is one condition that should be considered. "My novel might come off as a realistic portrayal, but it`s in fact a fable that comes with my literary device allowing my readers to enter a certain, different world," she said.
She said sensitive readers might go deeper into the world and come out fully refreshed, a device that she hopes will lead to a healing process. From a literary point of view, she could create a world where readers simply go through all the depressing issues and problems which are buried there, but she opted not to take such approach.
"Since I want to write a novel that can help people heal their wounds, I incorporate dreams or offer a new beginning at the end of a story so that my readers can get back to their daily life safely," she said.
Yoshimoto`s visit to Seoul was her second, following the first last year when she introduced the Korean version of her fiction series "Okoku (Kingdom)." Yoshimoto, born in 1964 in Tokyo, has won numerous literary awards, and her works, including "Kitchen," are published in more than 20 countries.
(insight@heraldcorp.com)

By Yang Sung-jin