Memoir that sometimes reads like essays, with a heavy emphasis on linguistics. Written by a white English woman who is a literary translator between Japanese and English. Orbits around her time living in Japan when she was younger, and her complicated, ambivalent trajectory with Japanese nation, culture, and language. Reflects, through all of that, on broader questions of language, self, and identity. The organizing principle of the book, from which it derives its title, is fifty different instances of sound-symbolic language in Japanese – a much more important part of that language than it is in English, where we are most familiar with one of its subsets, onomatopoeia. Often talks about how she learned each word – giza-giza, sa’pari, moja-moja, kyuki-kyuki, and all the rest – and explores their complex, layered meanings, while using them to talk about an element of her journey and related ideas. Very well written, thoughtful, fascinating. Highly recommended.
Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.