The Waiting Years (Japan's Women Writers) (Paperback)

~ Enchi Fumiko (Author), John Bester (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Tomo is buying a mistress for her husband, an act that bewilders many people: not the fact that her husband should have a mistress, but that Tomo is acquiring her. Tomo did not choose this course in her life, but she swallows her pain and personal humiliation and rationalizes how lucky she is to select the woman. Her choice, Suga, believes she is to be Tomo's maid and, with the honest innocence of her protected fifteen years, moves into Tomo's home. In time, Suga too begins to repress her feelings: "Inside the self that achieved expression neither in actions nor in words, that seemed so ineffectual, the feelings that could find no relief lay dark, cold, and silent, like snow settled by night." Ten years later there is another mistress, another humiliation for Tomo. Tomo spends her whole life denying herself for the sake of her family and what she perceives as a greater good. A remarkable women, she manages the family household, oversees various land holdings without the aid of her husband or an education, and provides for many, in spite of the restrictions of her life. Beautiful and thought-provoking, The Waiting Years was awarded the Noma Prize, Japan's highest literary honor. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith

Product Description

The beautiful, immature girl whom she took home to her husband was a maid only in name. Tomo's real mission had been to find him a mistress. Nor did her secret humiliation end there. The web that his insatiable lust spun about him soon trapped another young woman, and another ... and the relationships between the women thus caught were to form, over the years, a subtle, shifting pattern in which they all played a part. There was Suga, the innocent, introspective girl from a respectable but impoverished family; the outgoing, cheerful, almost boyish Yumi; the flirtatious, seductive Miya, who soon found her father-in-law more dependable as a man than his brutish son.... And at the center, rejected yet dominating them all, the near tragic figure of the wife Tomo, whose passionate heart was always, until that final day, held in check by an old-fashioned code.

In a series of colorful, unforgettable scenes, Enchi brilliantly handles the human interplay within the ill-fated Shirakawa family. Japan's leading woman novelist and a member of the prestigious Art Academy, she combines a graceful, evocative style that consciously echoes the Tale of Genji with keen insight and an impressive ability to develop her characters over a long period of time. Her work is rooted deep in the female psychology, and it is her women above all--so clearly differentiated yet all so utterly feminine--who live in the memory. With The Waiting Years, a new and important literary figure makes her debut in the Western world.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha America (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870114247
• ISBN-13: 978-0870114243
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,091,560 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Books I've Read, April 21, 2002

By	Lady Murasaki (Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

This book took my breath away. Fumiko Enchi describes the life of Tomo, who deals with her adulterous husband with amazing strength. In a complex marriage of love and hate, Tomo is sent to choose a concubine for her husband, find a husband for the other concubine he doesn't want, and worry about his affair with her daughter-in-law. While she may seem like a cold and unfeeling woman who is a stickler to tradition, Enchi shows the reader the gentle, compassionate side of Tomo. Tomo in the end is finally able to defeat her husband in an intelligent, almost classy manner.

What strikes me about the book is the way Enchi explains the motivations and fears of each of the characters. Even though I couldn't stand Tomo's husband, Yukitomo, at least I understood why he treated his wife so coldly. As in reality, everyone has different layers. The plot of the book is also interesting.

Do not wait to read the "The Waiting Years"!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cultural Insight and a Marevlous Story in one!, July 10, 2000

By	"johninjapan" (Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Waiting Years (Paperback)

The Waiting Years shares the unhurried pace of much Japanese literature. This helps to set the flavor of the world in which the story is based...a world where things take time and waiting is necessary.

The story highlights many inequalities in traditional Japanese society - with a strong focus on the inequality of women - using believable characters. Enchi shows us both sides of the coin, making us understand each character's actions even when the action evokes outrage.

Enchi is one of Japan's foremost female authors and this book is a fine example of why.

Very highly recommended for all but those who need a fast paced yarn.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ..., March 10, 2000

By	"[e-mail]" (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Waiting Years (Hardcover)

A low key family saga centred on the decades long war between Yukitomo, a government official, and Tomo his wife. Yukitomo is too arrogant & self centred to realise that he is in a battle with Tomo, but the latter is conscious of the struggle every day of their long marriage. When Tomo is sent to Tokyo to find a "maid" for Yokotomo, she knows her place in his affections (and his bed) is about to be taken by a fifteen year old girl. She is appalled and humiliated, yet being a dutiful late 19th century Japaqnese wife she takes pride in choosing a girl who will meet her lecherous spouse's needs and expectations.

Enchi appears to put 1950s feminist thoughts into the heads of her turn of the century female characters as the many ironies of Tomo's position in the family and wider community are carefully explored. Although the conventions of the society are heavily biased against women, Enchi is able to highlight some of the positive aspects as well as the weaknesses. The major characters are not one dimensional - she draws out some sympathy and understanding for Yukitomo while finding fault in Tomo and his other victims. This is a novel that progresses at a gentle pace, with little action, some dialogue and a lot of looks and glances, repressed feelings and unspoken resentment.