Hardboiled and Hard Luck are two novellas in one book. The first story has a supernatural element beginning with the story teller’s walk through a forest and arriving at her hotel in a small village. In the forest, she already has a sense that something strange is in the air. The second story finds Kuni in hospital on a ventilator with her sister remembering their past closeness and trying to come to terms with her eventual death.
In the Lake there is something strange about Nakajima that draws Chihiro to him. But why does he break out in a nervous sweat at the thought of visiting his long time friends? Why does he find it so difficult to become intimate with Chihiro? She knows he has a hidden past, but can their relationship last?
Yoshimoto has a way of drawing the reader instantly into her main character’s shoes and keeping you spellbound until the end. Both of these books were so good, I’ll search for more from this author.
Read and Write 