Lielisks psiholoģiskais romāns. Tiesa, bez epizodes kūrortā varētu tīri labi iztikt. Vai arī tā būtu krietni saīsināma ( )

This novel explores the role of women in present-day Japan, and while it is quiet and meditative, there are many diverse characters and plenty of action, so it was also a page-turner for me, rather than being a mere philosophical exercise. The focus is primarily on 50ish Mitsuki, a college instructor who discovers that her husband is having an affair at the same time that her mother, with whom she has always had a difficult relationship, is dying. Mitsuki's sister Netsuki also plays a major role in the narrative. Their mother Noriko is a vain and selfish woman who has always favored Netsuki, although the bulk of the burden of her care has always fallen on Mitsuki. Mitsuki finds herself dreaming of a time after her mother has died, when she believes she will have more options to direct her own life. Noriko dies in the first chapter of the book, and Part I of the book goes back to describe the earlier life of Noriko and her ultimate rise in society, as well as the childhood, youth and young womanhood of the two sisters. In Part II, which takes place after the mother's death, Mitsuke goes alone to a hot springs mountain resort to spend several weeks deciding what to do with her future.

This book was originally published as a serial (a common format in Japanese literature earlier in the 20th century), but it still felt cohesive and unified, although there was a small amount of what seemed to be repetition. I enjoyed the characters, and the descriptions of the life and evolving role of a woman in modern Japan.

3 1/2 stars ( )

The Katsura sisters have long had an embattled relationship with their mother. Noriko Katsura, is an egotistical and selfish woman with a taste for the finer things in life, and little, if any, feelings for people. The sisters dream of the day when their mother will finally die, and her demands on them will stop.

This sounds horrible, especially in a society where children are expected to love, revere, and care selflessly for their parents. But for Mitsuki, the daughter on whom the majority of the burden falls on, it’s a chance to finally live her own life. As a child, she was neglected in favor of Natsuki, her more beautiful and talented sister. As an adult, her life is pretty much run by her husband, a fellow college instructor who wants a luxury condo- and is having (another) affair with a younger woman. What would Mitsuki do if she could make decisions without having to consider either of these people?

The first half of the book revolves around Noriko’s final hospitalization and death, and fills us in on the history of the Katsura family. The second half is what Mitsuki does after her mother’s death as she figures out what she really wants out of life. It’s fascinating reading the history of her family and how it was shaped by Japanese culture, as that culture itself changes through modernization and influences from the West. While told in third person, Mitsuki is the main focus of the tale. Mother/daughter relationships, marriage, aging, and sister relationships are all treated here with sensitivity and depth. ( )

Esta novela –publicada por entregas en Yomiuri, el diario de mayor circulación en Japón– narra la experiencia de una mujer enfrentada a dos situaciones simultáneas y trascendentales para su vida: cumplir el deseo de su madre anciana y enferma de tener una muerte asistida y hacer frente al fracaso irremediable de su matrimonio. En el entrecruzamiento de estas experiencias límite, “la herencia” de la madre adquiere una dimensión especial. La herencia de la Madre es la última novela de Mizumura, tras su consagración internacional con la premiada Una novela real (Reseña de la editorial)