ISBN-13: 9781933633770
Publisher: Melville House Publishing
Published: May 2011
Format: Hardcover, 208 pgs
Translated by: Michael Emmerich
Source: Personal Library




I first came across the name of Banana Yoshimoto when I read about Iliana's review on one of her books, Kitchen. Intrigued by the three factors (Iliana's lovely review, the author's name and the title as well) I decided to pick it up and read it. The end result of that decision have made me fallen in love with Yoshimoto's prose and I began to seek her books thereafter.

In this novel, Yoshimoto delves into the relationship between a mural painter and a student. Before your mind wanders anywhere else, let me assure you that the relationship between these two protagonists didn't fall into the 'forbidden' category. In fact I want to share with you that the encounter and the relationship between Chihiro and Nakajima is one of the most unique and 'strange' among all the books I read thus far.

30-year-old Chihiro paints murals and she has been living with her mother all the while until her passing. Being born out of wedlock and raised single-handed by her Mama-san mother, it is no surprise that Chihiro's childhood isn't all that happy. Although she still sees her father occasionally, there is no deep bonding between them as she knew her relatives, in particularly her father's family, don't treat her as their own. Despite this, Chihiro didn't feel much sense of resent towards them but she does feel sorry for her mother. The death of her mother affected her much in a way that she lives her life numbly, until she befriends a young man who lives across the street. You can say their encounter is rather special as they knew each other after they caught each other staring out from their windows.

Chihiro and Nakajima eventually live together in her apartment, but their romance is rather hesitant and a distant one. There may be times they feel they knew nothing much about each other, but yet they also feel they need each other at the same time. Chihiro has not much idea about Nakajima's past life except that he excels in his advanced program in genetics studies. It is only one day that he mentioned about visiting his two friends living in the countryside that Chihiro began to catch a glimpse of Nakajima's past and understand the trauma that he has gone through during his childhood which what shaped his life and make him what he is today.

Without spoiling the story, I won't indulge you with the details but I have to say hearing his side of the story astounded me. But aside from this (which I feel is the core of the story), it is also very much about redemption, the love of a mother and well, loneliness. I didn't mention much about my mother or her passing in 2006, but I just want to say that reading this book has evoked all the memories and emotions I had of my mother. Through Chihiro's narrative, I can totally relate to her and shared her grief. Towards the end, there is also a scene which made me think of the great love of a mother towards her child. However, is too much love and being overprotective a good or a bad thing? Will it lead to self-defeating results? (And no, this is not a spoiler.)

The Lake is a powerful story filled with emotional depth and will haunt you after finishing the book. Once again, I was mesmerised by Yoshimoto's lyrical prose and her ability in weaving a terrific, thought-provoking story out of the mundane, and that is no easy feat in my opinion.