Originally published in 2003, Hiromi Kawakami‘s The Ten Loves of Nishino was translated into English for the first time in 2019. There is something very sweet about the novel, which follows the protagonist–Nishino of the title–through his life and, yes, his relationships with ten different women.
Kawakami’s ability to articulate the variety of views of the ten loves is impressive, and the motivations for their engagements remain varied throughout the novel. As implied by the title, none of the relationships are particularly permanent, although many overlap and impact each other.
There are a lot of cross-cultural issues to unpack in thinking about Kawakami’s novel. First, there is plain old Orientalism, and the Western tendency to exoticize, sexualize, and fetishize the East. Second, there is the narrative’s repetition of a trope where a man who is repeatedly described as fairly nondescript and only moderately successful moves from attractive lover to attractive lover with such ease. Women pursue Nishino far more often than he pursues them, and, overall, it’s not terribly clear why, although several of the relationships are far more grounded in character motivation than others. Finally, something that may not be obvious to Western readers, Kawakami is female, which–at least for me–further complicates the first two points.
I would strongly recommend the novel if the paragraph above seems interesting: that is, if these are issues that you enjoy thinking about, it’s a very strong novel. The other potential in-road is how smooth and easy of a narrative it is–much like Nishino himself, the novel flows fairly easily through Nishino’s life, with scenes that are both memorable and endearing.
#WhatIWishICouldDo
Create such a compelling and simple structure for a novel: the plot, in many ways, is embodied in the title. The details of each of the relationships are uniquely presented, but the novel really is the story of Nishino and his ten loves. Elegant and simple.