Hiromi Kawakami

A brief, disquieting companion to the bestselling Strange Weather in Tokyo, set during a summer afternoon and featuring a mischievous pair of creatures called tengu

Parade

jess

Within a single breath, I finished this book. Subtitled “a folktale,” Parade, a short companion piece to Strange Weather in Tokyo, is exactly that – a whispered tale shared between lovers. Crisp and clear, like the breeze on a warm spring day, Hiromi Kawakami’s prose shines, pulling the reader into a moment of nostalgia bordering on confession when Sensei urges Tsukiko: “Tell me a story from long ago.”
Adorned with pale-toned imagery – soft, abstract drawings and patterned illustrations by Takako Yoshitomi that establish a gentle, soothing ambiance – Parade is an ode to memory and imagination, drawing from Japanese tradition in tengu, creatures with a history of chaotic influence. Considered guardians, tengu have roots in both spectrums of morality – a feature of their kind that is present in the mysterious, dual-toned creatures that appear at Tsukiko’s side one night as a child.
Initially reminiscent of the imaginary friend conjured by loneliness – an ideology that would perfectly match present-day Tsukiko, who gravitated toward Sensei in Strange Weather in Tokyo because the two were able to enjoy quiet solitude – the tengu, which remain unnamed, seem to reflect Tsukiko’s moral compass, all the while, acting as confidants. From hiding poor test grades to ostracizing a classmate for no reason aside from peer pressure, Kawakami reflects on the inner turmoil of childhood through the pale-faced tengu, who urges Tsukiko to right her wrongs, even falling ill when a classmate is emotionally abused by the collective group of students.
Described, in the afterward, as “a memento of a story that has ended,” Parade captures the hazy nature of memory alongside the innocence and naivety of childhood. Nostalgic and warm, Kawakami’s latest offers a fragmentary glimpse at easy companionship – a different take on love in that Tsukiko and Sensei are simply comfortable living in each other’s sphere of influence.
The ability to grasp and ponder the symbolic meaning of a seemingly normal sentence is the pure essence of japanese lit. This less-than-100-page short story, served its purpose whilst warming the hearts of every readers out there.

so cute !!!!!!! i love the afterword .. ive never read strange weather in tokyo tho so i should probably do that

I think Kawakami is gonna be come one of my favorites. This story was distant yet personal and the afterword is worth considering in the grand scheme of stories.

Parade

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