APRIL 2020 - AudioFile
Narrators Cindy Kay and David Shih unfold the questions behind a woman’s death in this slow-moving mystery with elements of magical realism. Ryusei Yanagi falls head over heels in love with his fellow student, Miwako Sumida, a woman whose life has always been kept under wraps. Persistent as he is, she refuses his advances. Then, Miwako is found dead of suicide, having left no clues as to why she killed herself. Kay and Shih, with their pleasant voices and even pacing, build intrigue around Miwako’s final days. But while Kay can deftly switch voices in any gender, Shih's struggles make female characters sound a bit awkward. Still, both narrators satisfy listeners as they shed light on the tragedy. A.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
12/23/2019
Goenawan’s tender and tragic follow-up to Rainbirds follows a group of college friends grasping for answers after the death of their friend. Ryusei Yanagi first meets fellow student Miwako Sumida at a restaurant near the Waseda university campus in Tokyo. They bond while browsing in an English-language bookstore, reading together in their university’s library, and assisting Ryusei’s sister, Fumi, at her painting studio. Ryusei is drawn by Miwako’s candor (“You seem pretty frivolous to me,” she tells him after admitting surprise at his deeper interests), but the two stay in romantic limbo as Miwako keeps Ryusei at a distance. Goenawan conveys Miwako’s story in three parts, alternating from the gentle and heartbroken Ryusei, artist and late-night hostess Fumi, and wistful and anxious best friend Chie, who accompanies Miwako to get an abortion without knowing who had gotten her pregnant, having sensed that her friend had been raped. After Miwako goes to Kitsuyama, a remote Japanese village, and commits suicide, Ryusei and Chie follow a trail of clues from letters and diary entries to understand why she killed herself. Goenawan’s luminous prose captures the deep emotions of her characters as they grapple with questions about family history, gender, and sexuality. The tug of Miwako’s strange, troubled spirit will wrench readers from the beginning. Agent: Maria Cardona. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2020
Praise for The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida
“An exquisite tale about the way secrets shape and transform young lives. Behind Goenawan’s crisp, spare prose lies a world of emotional complexity.”
—Mira T. Lee, award–winning author of Everything Here Is Beautiful
“A novel in three voices about the inner turmoil—and beauty—that people keep walled behind flawless surfaces.”
—Tiffany Tsao, author of The Oddfits and The Majesties
“From the first page of Clarissa Goenawan’s The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, we know that the titular Miwako has taken her own life, but we don’t know why. This same question plagues Miwako’s close friends as they grieve her death and search for answers. In this elegant and haunting novel, Goenawan deftly explores the messiness of grief, the pain of lost chances, and the way a life can collapse under the weight of secrets. Miwako and her friends are under my skin, and I’ll be thinking about them for some time.”
—Kathleen Barber, author of Truth Be Told and Follow Me
“Vivid and intriguing—an elegantly cryptic, poetically plotted Murakami-esque whydunit.”
—Sharlene Teo, award–winning author of Ponti
“Written in clear, simple prose, Goenawan's novel presents the intriguing mystery of Miwako Sumida through the eyes of three characters who try to piece together her puzzle while struggling with their own questions of meaning and identity. This story about youth, friendship, grief, and trauma invites us through secret doors, ready to discover more."
—Intan Paramaditha, PEN Award–winning author of Apple and Knife and The Wandering
“A tremendous examination of sadness . . . a book with heart about the mysteries of the heart.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Goenawan's style is effortless and emotionally charged . . . The Perfect World Of Miwako Sumida is a misconception: nothing is perfect in this book.”
—The Irish Times
“An immersive, haunting tale . . . Goenawan's prose is transportive in its directness and evocative in its simplicity. In Miwako, she has succeeded in an intricate character study of a perturbed soul.”
—The Strait Times
“Miwako is a powerful, memorable character . . . The way these characters’ lives intersect makes for a complex and satisfying tale, one that’s sad at the same time as it’s lively and warm.”
—Book Riot
“A haunting tale of secrets, inner turmoil, and the search for answers.”
—Bustle
“A quietly powerful meditation on the destructive power of secrets, as well as the power of truth to heal even beyond death.”
—The Nerd Daily
“Goenawan, like any skilled novelist, manages to elegantly reveal both the pain and beauty of unraveling a life after loss. This is only her second novel to date, and she’s already been compared to the wizard of world-building, Haruki Murakami.”
—Lambda Literary
“A novel that lingers in the mind thanks to its poetic delivery, layering of ideas and an engrossing tale, all led by vivid characters.”
—Bad Form Magazine
“If her debut novel brings Murakami to mind, her second, with its winsome tone, harkens to early Banana Yoshimoto. However, with her blend of mystery, magic and social issues—in this case, sexual abuse, transgender awareness and suicide—Goenawan is developing her own distinct brand.”
—The Japan Times
“[Goenawan] raises an age-old question on the fine line where literature ends and life begins . . [she] has her own distinctive voice, as she sensitively explores traumatic sexual experiences through a woman’s perspective.”
—The Jakarta Post
“As three stories interlink, rich plot, description, and dialogue make this fiction seem like reality. While readers may be aware they're not a part of the novel, through Goenawan's enthralling writing, they will nonetheless become immersed in her fictional world.”
—Budi Darma
“A compelling protagonist . . . Like Japanese brush painting, the author’s simple, clear prose captures Miwako’s vulnerability and complexity. Also vividly drawn are Fumi and Chie, each having built their own unusual protective personas that are gradually revealed. An eerie and elegant puzzle.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Like Goenawan’s previous Rainbirds, this is more literary fiction than conventional mystery, featuring exceptionally well-drawn characters facing adversity in a narrative written with an elegance and delicacy.”
—Booklist
“Tender and tragic . . . Goenawan’s luminous prose captures the deep emotions of her characters as they grapple with questions about family history, gender, and sexuality. The tug of Miwako’s strange, troubled spirit will wrench readers from the beginning.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Goenawan does an expert job of getting to the core of this university student with a mysterious past, and on how people grapple with the death by suicide of a loved one."
—Alma
Praise for Rainbirds
“A murder mystery and a family drama in one, this book is as beautiful as it is understated. The author presents us with a fascinatingly structured look into Japanese society and a depiction of mourning and grief that is universally recognizable.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
”A transnational literary tour-de-force. Readers will be carried along by its creepy charm.”
—The Japan Times
“Clarissa Goenawan spins a dark, encapsulating story that will certainly reel you in completely.”
—Bustle
“Mysterious and dark.”
—Daily Beast
“With its dream sequences, chance encounters and leisurely attention to music and food, this debut novel evokes the simple joys of early Haruki Murakami . . . A satisfying heartfelt tale about letting go.”
—amNewYork
Library Journal
03/01/2020
When college student Miwako Sumida hangs herself, it affects three people. Ryusei Yanagi, another student, met Miwako at a group date, and fell in love with her eight months before her death. Secretive and stubborn, Miwako did not return his love. Her best friend, Chie Ohno, thought she knew more about Miwako because she went with her for an abortion. But Chie's version is not complete. Ryu and Chie make a pilgrimage to the village where Miwako died, but they don't find the answers they're seeking. Ryu's older sister, Fumi, discovers the truth. Born a boy, Fumi always wanted to be a girl. When their parents were killed in a car accident, she took care of Ryu, first in the orphanage, and then in an apartment, even when he went to college. Fumi can see ghosts, so when Miwako's ghost appears to Fumi in another form, she reveals her tragic story. VERDICT This haunting tale of grief and tragedy by the author of Rainbirds might appeal to new adults who remember John Green's Looking for Alaska. The leisurely narrative uncovers a world of Japanese customs, ghosts, and grief. [See Prepub Alert, 9/9/19.]—Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN
APRIL 2020 - AudioFile
Narrators Cindy Kay and David Shih unfold the questions behind a woman’s death in this slow-moving mystery with elements of magical realism. Ryusei Yanagi falls head over heels in love with his fellow student, Miwako Sumida, a woman whose life has always been kept under wraps. Persistent as he is, she refuses his advances. Then, Miwako is found dead of suicide, having left no clues as to why she killed herself. Kay and Shih, with their pleasant voices and even pacing, build intrigue around Miwako’s final days. But while Kay can deftly switch voices in any gender, Shih's struggles make female characters sound a bit awkward. Still, both narrators satisfy listeners as they shed light on the tragedy. A.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-12-23
When a Tokyo university student hangs herself in a remote forest, three devastated friends seek to understand why.
Reluctantly attending a group blind date, Waseda University student Ryusei Yanagi is immediately attracted to Miwako Sumida, whose "serious expression behind a pair of old-fashioned thick-rimmed glasses" and blunt manner are at odds with her prettier and flirtier girlfriends. "She seemed sensible," Ryu thinks. As they bond while browsing in an English-language bookshop and reading together in the library, Ryu falls in love with Miwako, sensing a softness and compassion behind her hard exterior, but she refuses to date him. Fumi, Ryu's transgender sister, is also intrigued by the stubborn and standoffish girl, whom she hires as a painting assistant for her studio. Eight months later, Miwako is dead, and a grieving Ryusei travels with Miwako's close friend Chie Ohno to Kitsuyama, a mountain village where Miwako spent her final days, to find answers. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Fumi receives an unexpected visitor who might hold a clue to Miwako's suicide. Set in the same moodily atmospheric Japanese world as her acclaimed debut novel, Rainbirds (2018), Indonesian-born Singaporean writer Goenawan explores via the perspectives of Ryu, Fumi, and Chie how a carefully crafted facade of hardened perfection can crumble under the weight of painful secrets and shame, leading to tragedy. Although the nature of Miwako's hidden past becomes apparent early on, she is such a compelling protagonist that the reader doesn't mind the obviousness. Like Japanese brush painting, the author's simple, clear prose captures Miwako's vulnerability and complexity. Also vividly drawn are Fumi and Chie, each having built their own unusual protective personas that are gradually revealed.
An eerie and elegant puzzle.
