Ms Ice Sandwich: Mieko Kawakami (Japanese Novellas)

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A brilliant work of literature written in the perspective of a child – experiencing and expressing the earliest feelings of non-familial love, attraction and desire (although one can argue that it has some sexual undertones, I personally couldn’t see it that way). These frustrations amalgamate and create friction in his relationships, especially with Tutti from whom he so desperately wants to be understood. There's loads of hard stuff in life, and maybe when we're grown-ups, there's going to be tons more hard stuff to deal with.

Later on he manages to find a friend but she also has problems and their friendship is an unstable one. His blossoming relationship with Tutti, borne of the trust he develops as he comes to understand their shared situation, allows him, finally, to live honestly. The translation here is certainly deserving of endless praise as well with the voice coming through so clear and fluid. I responded to your comment about loneliness on my blog the best I could…it’s such an interesting discussion. This scene is so rife with sexual tension without ever touching upon sexuality or sexual language and is just a masterpiece of small fiction.There is something brilliant in the way Kawakami subtly juxtaposes sexual awakenings with violence and discomfort, as when he watches Tutti’s perfectly practiced reenactment of the gunfight scene, wanting to cry and demand she stop but also finds himself breathless ‘ kneeling on the sofa with both my hands over my chest, my fingers tightly locked together. Ms Ice Sandwich is shorter and simpler, but it’s a very convincing portrait of a lonely childhood and the confusing onrush of powerful feelings.

I’m thinking about all these things as I try to keep watching all the action and confusion on the screen. Between a 4 and a 5-star rating – a great concept; a light read – and/but also felt a bit lacking in terms of characterisation (as per usual when it comes to Kawakami’s work). The story touches on universal attitudes, the desire to belong, and the difficulties of conveying what is deeply felt. The struggle to achieve this liberation is the novella’s dénouement, and Kawakami handles it well, tying together loose threads while remaining faithful to the characterization of the young boy we have come to know. Sometimes it’s thinly veiled under humor, or bizarre situations, but I think they often point out what hurts us.The translator Louise Heal Kawai should also be commented on her excellent translation from the original Japanese source to English where she manages to make the story flow in a natural manner. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. The casual tone of his narration, which often emphasised his age and naïveté, made his voice all the more authentic. Kawakami’s novella also makes me wonder about the ways we engage/build relationships/friendships – and of the influence and importance of the environment we grow up in? You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Unlike the protagonist of Heaven, the narrator in Ms Ice Sandwich seems to feel at ease at school and amongst his peers, in particular, a girl nicknamed Tutti. The underlying sense of transience harkens back to classical Japanese literature, to be sure, but this is no derivative work resting on the laurels of past greats.She talked about how she’s always wondering about how and when is it precisely/ at what point in a girl’s life when she suddenly wakes up to fully realise that she’s living in a girl’s – or rather a woman’s body. the man screams at the manager, then he looks square at Ms Ice Sandwich—speaking loudly and clearly, Listen to me, you ugly cow.