Sewing Machines and Goldfish

Sewing machine and goldfish

【A life struggling for survival, yet with enough love left to give】
“The flowers are so beautiful. Today is the day I die.”
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★ A story of aging that goes straight to the heart, an amateur debut work that has stunned the literary world.
“A monologue by an elderly woman deep in cognitive impairment,” it won the Subaru Literary Award, was nominated for the Yukio Mishima Award & Noma Literary Newcomer Award, and sparked widespread social discussion; renowned writers such as Ogawa Ito, Kawakami Mieko, Kanehara Hitomi, and Machida Sonoka were deeply moved and strongly recommended it.
★ Confronting aging and caregiving, a profound work on aging and the plight of women; hailed as a “revolutionary novel” from the perspective of cognitive impairment!
Grandma Yoshikage grapples with the physical weakness, cognitive impairment, and difficulty with self-defecation brought on by old age, while allowing her thoughts to jump back in time, noticing traces of despair and happiness, abandonment and protection in her life.
This book shows readers, from the first-person perspective of an elder, what changes aging brings to the body and mind, whether health and dignity can coexist, and how caregivers can connect with the elderly's hearts.
★ A life struggling for survival, yet with enough love left to give
This little book encapsulates a woman's difficult and ordinary life. She never went to school, never heard of gender equality, and didn't know what female independence was. She just desperately pedaled the sewing machine; because only when she was pedaling the sewing machine could she stop thinking about anything, relax, and persist as a person, to live.
★ Down-to-earth characters and language, bringing a dual shock of literary quality and emotional resonance.
The colloquial monologue and fragmented thoughts make readers feel as if they are experiencing Grandma Yoshikage's chaotic inner world firsthand.
The author worked as a caregiver, was over fifty when writing this book, and contracted COVID-19, at one point critically ill. Therefore, the portrayal of elderly people with disabilities in the book is almost brutally realistic.
★ Small 32K pocketbook, paperback with double cover, lightweight and portable; the inner pages use high-quality pure paper, smooth and easy to open; a delicate bookmark is included with the book.
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Content Introduction
Grandma Yasuda Yoshikage is old and frail, and also shows symptoms of cognitive impairment. Getting out of bed to go to the toilet in the morning is difficult for her, but she insists on living in her own house. Her life is now divided into three types of days: days with home care, days going to the day care center, and days when her deceased son's wife comes.
She drifts in a haze of reality and memories, muttering to herself, gradually losing her self-care abilities and moving towards the end of her life, while letting her thoughts jump back and forth...
In her story, the sewing machine is about survival, and goldfish point to love; the sewing machine gave her dignity and freedom, while the goldfish gave her the obsession to live.
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Ogawa Ito (renowned bestselling author): "Ms. Yoshikage" still lingers deep in my heart. This book distills everything about life and tells a wonderful story.
Kawakami Mieko (winner of the Akutagawa Prize, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro Prize, Murasaki Shikibu Literary Award, etc.): I read an amazing work.
Kanehara Hitomi (winner of the Akutagawa Prize, Subaru Literary Award, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro Prize, etc.): I think this work is truly impeccable, incredibly solid, and substantial. ...In this sense, I consider it a revolutionary novel.
Machida Sonoka (winner of the Japan Booksellers' Award): I saw my late grandmother in Grandma Yoshikage. Live well, I believe I too will meet those flowers that my grandmother once saw.

2025-03-01

湖南文艺出版社

196

9787572620713