Goodbye Tsugumi Author:Banana Yoshimoto Banana Yoshimoto's novels of young life in Japan have made her an international sensation. Goodbye Tsugumi is an offbeat story of a deep and complicated friendship between two female cousins that ranks among her best work. Maria is the only daughter of an unmarried woman. She has grown up at the seaside alongside her cousin Tsugumi, a lifelong i... more »nvalid, charismatic, spoiled, and occasionally cruel. Now Maria's father is finally able to bring Maria and her mother to Tokyo, ushering Maria into a world of university, impending adulthood, and a "normal" family. When Tsugumi invites Maria to spend a last summer by the sea, a restful idyll becomes a time of dramatic growth as Tsugumi finds love and Maria learns the true meaning of home and family. She also has to confront both Tsugumi's inner strength and the real possibility of losing her. Goodbye Tsugumi is a beguiling, resonant novel from one of the world's finest young writers.« less
This short novel told the story of a young Japanese girl, Maria, and her childhood and young adulthood spent at a summer beach resort Inn with her cousins, Tsugumi and Yoko. Tsugumi is a sickly child who seems to have been spoiled her whole life, but Maria forms a close bond with her even though Tsugumi was basically mean-spirited. During her final summer at the beach, Tsugumi falls in love with Kyoichi and seeks vengeance on a group of teens who kill Kyoichi's dog and towards the end, she falls seriously ill and may end up dying. Yoshimoto does a good job of portraying the emotions and feelings of the characters and she also describes the town and scenery very well. But, overall the book tended to drag a little for me and overall I would only mildly recommend it.