Natsuko Imamura

For such a short book, it is very powerful.

This novella’s premise is quite simple: Amiko is narrating memories of her childhood to a little girl.
Amiko is a spirited, quirky child who causes her mother much trouble. She blurts things out, sneaks into places, eats with her hands, and doesn’t comprehend why people find that weird and tell her off, but she takes it all very stoically, almost as if she really doesn’t get any of it. Progressively it appears that is indeed the case. She shares moments of family life, and her innocent crush on Nori, which has had a lasting impact on her.
Around her birthday, things start to change. She is gifted a walkie talkie which she practices speaking with, her mum is pregnant. The family goes through a lot of adversity and things will never be the same.

There are cute comedic moments that reminded me of Ghibli children, the film “The Taste of Tea” or even the first part of “Amelie”. However there are also very dark ones, poignantly portraying the traumatic impact of neglect and bullying on a neurodivergent child, and sheds light on the complexities of relationships with family members.
The narration is fresh and brings something unique because it is a very realistic, candid, and relatable representation of a neurodivergent childhood without being cliché or relying on stereotypes.

I think this book is important. It prompts readers to reflect on their biases and the importance of recognising the human validity of people/children like Amiko, and for neurodivergent people, it is a very moving read where we feel seen. Stories featuring neurodivergent children are often told “about” them, things are told “at” them but in this book, Amiko is candidly telling her story in her words, she wants to connect, and this is echoed in the book’s title.

I honestly did not expect it to affect me as much as it did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (mais)

The Woman in the Purple Skirt is an ordinary woman who only ever wears a purple-colored skirt. She doesn’t do anything particularly unusual or unique. She looks for work. She eats a cream bun while sitting on a park bench. She seems to barely make ends meet.

Our narrator isn’t the Woman in the Purple Skirt. It’s the woman in the yellow cardigan, who watches the woman in the purple skirt, and know her life thoroughly. She seems to want to be friends with the woman in the purple skirt.

“When the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan goes out walking in the shopping district, nobody pays the slightest bit of attention. But when the Woman in the Purple Skirt goes out, it’s impossible not to pay attention. Nobody could ignore her.”

But it’s not just watching, the reader realizes. The narrator helps the woman in the purple skirt by putting out the job listing magazines at the convenience store, she drops off shampoo at her apartment to make sure her hair gets washed. She eventually finds the Woman a job at the same hotel, cleaning rooms.

This is part of her attempt to befriend the Woman, by making them colleagues at the same job. But still she watches from afar.

The Woman in the Purple Skirt becomes popular with the other employees. But the narrator remains invisible, not just to the woman but it seems to almost everyone else working there.

Some might say this book is disturbing. But I just felt this sadness for the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. A nameless, faceless woman who nobody knows, not even the reader. The loneliness of living in a city leads her to longing for a friend, into voyeurism and idolization of an everyday person.… (mais)