Name: Sisters in Yellow
Rating: 3.45 (10 reviews)
ISBN: 9781035095094

MIEKO. KAWAKAMI

Sisters in Yellow

Mieko Kawakami

All of them are fleeing something. Growing up without a father, Hana’s tired of the pity in her classmates’ eyes, and finds a flashier mother figure in Kimiko. Kimiko is older than Hana's mother but seems much younger, chatting easily about school and boys and wanting a better life. Fate throws them together with two more young women—bruised but not broken by life. Together the four set out to remake their lives, fighting predatory lenders, organized criminals, and plain bad luck as they open a bar called Lemon.

Keeping the business going, and trying to take care of each other, forms the core of this enrapturing novel. It is a story of startling reversals and vivid portraits of the matriarchy of Tokyo nightlife and its adjacent criminal underclasses. From the bar owners to the aging hostesses to the young street touts coaxing people off the street to places like Lemon, everyone wants a chance at renewal, but can everyone get it?

I initially thought that the book would be solving the murder (which was part of the premise of the book), but they never talked about it. It is a story of abandonment in different forms and how the characters tried to stay afloat. I do wish they kept the yellow theme as a resolution or how it gave them hope to keep going. But yeah, that was abandoned too.

Naomi P

Grabbed me right away then slowed way the f down. Way too much dialogue and exposition. Ran out of my library loan so DNF

Margo Koss

I think what stuck with me the most about this novel is the very vivid depiction of poverty and the insular; almost circular world that it can create for people. My own personal life and experiences are very far removed from the characters in this story which makes it harder for me to make a 'correct' opinion on the novel, but from my perspective, this book shows a very visceral description of someone who grew up with barely anything to her name while trying to make that life better, for better or worse. Using her previous experiences and her very strong independence to formulate her own sense of morality, you understand why and how she makes the choices that she does; especially in regards to the accumulation of events towards the end of the novel. The final chapter left me sad and despondent, and with a lot to reflect on.

Sisters in Yellow

Reviews

Highlights