The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida

December 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.

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

June 1, 2020

Goenawan's (Rainbirds) sophomore title centers on a death in remote Japan. This time, death arrives via suicide, claiming the titular Miwako, an enigmatic university sophomore who disappears without notice, and is found only after death. Desperate to comprehend her fatal choices, Miwako's would-be boyfriend Ryusei (his love unrequited) and her high school best friend Chie attempt to retrace Miwako's journey to a mountainside clinic where she was volunteering shortly before she died. Ryusei's older sister Fumi--a painter moonlighting as a bar hostess--who Miwako briefly assisted, knows the dead girl least, and yet will be the one to whom the full truth is revealed. With the narration divided by gender--David Shih as Ryu, Cindy Kay as both Chie and Fumi--Shih's performance proves convincingly stronger, his verging-on-growly voice ideal for Ryu, deepening as his adoration grows, harsher as his anguish overwhelms. Kay has the more challenging role, attempting to distinguish Chie and Fumi (her distinctions are too subtle), adding in Miwako whose characterization will require unexpected vocal adjustments. VERDICT Despite occasional stumbles, Goenawan's intriguing plot twists should keep listeners engaged until the tragic whydunnit.--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

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