The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida

Product Description
From the critically acclaimed author of Rainbirds comes a novel of tragedy anddark histories set in Japan.\nUniversity sophomore Miwako Sumida has hanged herself, leaving those closest to her reeling. In the months before her suicide, she was hiding away in a remote mountainside village, but what, or whom, was she running from?\nTo Ryusei, a fellow student at Waseda; Chie, Miwako’s best friend; and Fumi, Ryusei’s older sister, Miwako was more than the blunt, no-nonsense person she projected to the world. Heartbroken, Ryusei begs Chie to take him to the village where Miwako spent her final days. While he is away, Fumi receives an unexpected guest at their shared apartment in Tokyo, increasingly fearful that Miwako’s death may ruin what is left of her brother’s life. Expanding on the beautifully crafted world of
Rainbirds, Clarissa Goenawan gradually pierces through a young woman’s careful façade, unmasking her most painful secrets.
Review
A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2020Praise for The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida\n“An exquisite tale about the way secrets shape and transform young lives. Behind Goenawan’s crisp, spare prose lies a world of emotional complexity.” \n—Mira T. Lee, award–winning author of
Everything Here Is Beautiful\n“A novel in three voices about the inner turmoil—and beauty—that people keep walled behind flawless surfaces.”\n—Tiffany Tsao, author of The Oddfits and The Majesties\n“From the first page of Clarissa Goenawan’s
The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, we know that the titular Miwako has taken her own life, but we don’t know why. This same question plagues Miwako’s close friends as they grieve her death and search for answers. In this elegant and haunting novel, Goenawan deftly explores the messiness of grief, the pain of lost chances, and the way a life can collapse under the weight of secrets. Miwako and her friends are under my skin, and I’ll be thinking about them for some time.”\n—Kathleen Barber, author of Truth Be Told and Follow Me
“Vivid and intriguing—an elegantly cryptic, poetically plotted Murakami-esque whydunit.”\n—Sharlene Teo, award–winning author of Ponti\n“Written in clear, simple prose, Goenawan's novel
presents the intriguing mystery of Miwako Sumida through the eyes of three characters who try to piece together her puzzle while struggling with their own questions of meaning and identity. This story about youth, friendship, grief, and trauma invites us through secret doors, ready to discover more."\n—Intan Paramaditha, PEN Award–winning author of Apple and Knife and The Wandering\n“A tremendous examination of sadness . . . a book with heart about the mysteries of the heart.”
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New York Journal of Books\n“Goenawan's style is effortless and emotionally charged . . .
The Perfect World Of Miwako Sumida is a misconception: nothing is perfect in this book.”
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The Irish Times \n“An immersive, haunting tale . . . Goenawan's prose is transportive in its directness and evocative in its simplicity. In Miwako, she has succeeded in an intricate character study of a perturbed soul.”
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The Strait Times \n“Miwako is a powerful, memorable character . . . The way these characters’ lives intersect makes for a complex and satisfying tale, one that’s sad at the same time as it’s lively and warm.”
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Book Riot\n“A haunting tale of secrets, inner turmoil, and the search for answers.”\n—Bustle
“A quietly powerful meditation on the destructive power of secrets, as well as the power of truth to heal even beyond death.”
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The Nerd Daily\n“Goenawan, like any skilled novelist, manages to elegantly reveal both the pain and beauty of unraveling a life after loss. This is only her second novel to date, and she’s already been compared to the wizard of world-building, Haruki Murakami.”
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Lambda Literary\n“A novel that lingers in the mind thanks to its poetic delivery, layering of ideas and an engrossing tale, all led by vivid characters.”\n—Bad Form Magazine
“If h