Goodbye Tsugumi

That feeling you get when you finish a truly wonderful story is amazing. I'm in a state of bliss right now, I'll tell you. Miss Banana has done it again, creating a fictional seaside town with dogs and people that I've loved reading about. That Tsugumi is such a cow but you like her because Maria loves her. I don't know if it was the translation from the Japanese or if that was the intention to create a blasé and harsh form of address but Tsugumi's use of "babe" annoyed me. However, maybe that's how Japanese teens spoke in the 90s!

I enjoyed this book on most fronts. A touching tale well told the only discord was the way the American/English translation brought too much American atmosphere thereby losing what I believe would have been a strong Japanese flavour.

A pleasant story that was easy to read in terms of the flow of the storyline, but not easy to read with the very small text size.

Brilliant!! The imagery in this is UNREAL!! Highly recommend!!! I could imagine myself as if i was in this!!

This was a Christmas present from a friend as I'd heard about this author and was interested in trying her books. I don't know if this is a good one to have started with or not but it's a lovely story. It's about 3 girls - Tsugumi, Maria and Yoko. Tsugumi and Yoko are sisters and Maria their cousin (she is the narrator). It's about their lives, their family and growing up along with all the problems that brings. Whilst simple in style, it is an enjoyable read. Perhaps a little too slow for me in that I remained detached from the characters, always feeling like an outsider. I'd like to read her other work, in time. I don't feel I could rush out and read something else by her right now. This book will stay in my memory as a lovely little tale.

Excellent if like me you like Japanese authors who turn out remarkable tales.

I do love beautiful prose but I just felt that this was at the expense of enough focus on a good plot. It is without doubt lovely writing but just didn't do it for me... I know others who love it though!

Good really but not for me.

Tsugumi is super unlikeable, and that's the point. It brings out the good in everyone around her. The main character and narrator lovingly recounts her youth in that seaside town, with absolutely no bitterness. Only fond memories, made fonder by the fact that she had to leave. A good, light book.

Thank you for this amazing book. It was highly recommended to me, arrived early & in brand new condition.

Per essere il mio primo libro di quest'autrice devo dire che mi sono appassionato. Il racconto è coinvolgente, tuttavia la fine non è un granché. Niente da dire sulla consegna

The book quality is below par. Came with dents.

Not being a reader of Japanese, I'll assume that the translator of "Goodye Tsugumi" knew far better than I what words to use. The descriptive and narrative passages are lovely: scenes of mysterious summer nights by the ocean are poetic and palpable. But, alas, the dialogue! Perhaps the translator aimed for a colloquial American tone to convey the informal speech of young Japanese friends. If so, regrettably, his ear for American speech is not reliable. "Catch my drift, darling" hasn't been said by American youth since, oh,1950? And it is simply jarring to imagine these characters using regionalisms like "I sure (verb)" or "Howdy!" The dated idioms mingle incongruously with millenial locutions -- e.g., "uncool," "bizarre" and "incredibly" -- in the speech of single characters, making a coherent voice for each character almost impossible to discern. I wish the translator had chosen British idioms: it would be less painful to imagine Japanese characters offering each other a nice cuppa. That said, Banana Yoshimoto is a wonderful author, and "Goodbye Tsugumi" is "sure" a lovely book.