The world of nighttime entertainment in Japan has long held a certain seedy fascination for those in and outside of the country. It is not often, however, that the perspectives of women working as hostesses at sōpurando (“soaplands,” bathhouses that offer sexual services) are represented with thoughtful candor and nuance.
In Suzumi Suzuki’s “Gifted,” translated by Allison Markin Powell, each alcohol-soaked locale in the novella simply provides the setting or background for the main character’s life, rather than serving as a central element to the plot, and Suzuki authentically portrays the strict layers of etiquette in place at such establishments. There’s no societal agenda or coming of age for our unnamed narrator. Instead, “Gifted” lyrically captures a moment in time, unwrapping the bittersweet denouement in a fraught relationship between a mother and daughter.
Gifted, by Suzumi Suzuki. Translated by Allison Markin Powell. 108 pages, TRANSIT BOOKS, Fiction.
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