Another short novel by Banana Yoshimoto, this one from 1989, about a young woman named Maria Shirakawa. She lives with her mother and sees her father, and at a given time in her life she becomes friends with another young woman named Tsugumi. Tsugumi is described as a “lifelong invalid”, and is stricken with a debilitating disease. She is more or less always dying, but not necessarily acutely dying. She is also interesting, kind of mean, fun to be around, and Maria’s best friend. Throughout […]