Shadow life

Hiromi Goto, 1966-

Book - 2021

Poet and novelist Hiromi Goto effortlessly blends wry, observational slice-of-life literary fiction with poetic magical realism in the tender and surprising graphic novel Shadow Life, with haunting art from debut artist Ann Xu. When Kumiko's well-meaning adult daughters place her in an assisted living home, the seventy-six-year-old widow gives it a try, but it's not where she wants to be. She goes on the lam and finds a cozy bachelor apartment, keeping the location secret even while communicating online with her eldest daughter. Kumiko revels in the small, daily pleasures: decorating as she pleases, eating what she wants, and swimming in the community pool. But something has followed her from her former residence--Death's sha...dow. Kumiko's sweet life is shattered when Death's shadow swoops in to collect her. With her quick mind and sense of humor, Kumiko, with the help of friends new and old, is prepared for the fight of her life. But how long can an old woman thwart fate?

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Subjects
Genres
Graphic novels
Psychological fiction
Comics (Graphic works)
Domestic comics
Psychological comics
Published
New York, NY : First Second 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Hiromi Goto, 1966- (author)
Other Authors
Ann Xu (artist)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
345 pages : chiefly black and white illustrations ; 23 cm
ISBN
9781626723566
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Commonwealth Writers' Prize--winning Canadian Japanese novelist/poet Goto (Half World, 2010) makes her stupendous graphic debut, in splendid artistic synchronization with Ignatz-nominated Xu. "It never felt right here," Kumiko thinks as she sneaks out of an assisted-living facility her daughters thought would be the best option for their septuagenarian, widowed mother. She's winnowed her life down to a single bundle--"but do the necessary things have to be so heavy?"--as she leaves everything else behind . . . except the shadow of death, which follows her out. Kumiko moves into a tiny studio and spends her days exactly as she pleases: swimming at the local community center, navigating the city buses, making friends (sometimes reluctantly) with neighbors, ignoring her increasingly worried daughters. When death attacks her, she insists "I'm not ready YET!" and impressively eludes the shadow. She survives for now, but forgetting, falling, and losing her way makes her realize, "Maybe I was too rash cutting off all my old friends," providing the impetus to pursue some important reconnections. Sprinkled with fabulism (a vacuum and salt can stop death), confronting racist history (Canada's WWII prison camps for Japanese Canadians), and questioning institutionalized eldercare, Goto's latest is an empowering, emotional tribute to defiant, independent, kick-ass old women living their best lives.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This wry genre-bending graphic novel from Goto (the Half World series) delves into aging, independence, lost love, and mortality with a whimsy that doesn't undercut its literary heft. Kumiko Saito, an elderly Japanese Canadian woman, runs away from an assisted living facility to reclaim her autonomy and embrace a solitary--but not lonely--life. Putting off her overbearing daughter and living on the bare essentials, Kumiko relishes swimming, simple cooking, and shopping on her own. Soon, however, Kumiko senses a presence encroaching on her solitude--a shadowy being that wants to take her somewhere she's not ready to go. With plucky ingenuity, she holds the being off, but the experience opens her eyes to a Miyazaki-esque parallel world of quirky spirits and mystic creatures. The loose black-and-white line art by Xu, including interspersed wordless panels, perfectly captures the progression of Kumiko's emotions from serenity to revelation to distress to determined defiance, as well as the narrative's fantastical and surreal turns. Quiet sensitivity and humor shine throughout, lighting the bright triumph in one woman's twilight. (Mar.)

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