Territory of Light
Back of Book
I was puzzled by how I had changed. But I could no longer go back . . .
It is spring. A young woman, left by her husband, starts a new life in a Tokyo apartment. Territory of Light follows her over the course of a year, as she struggles to bring up her two-year-old daughter alone. Her new home is filled with light streaming through the windows, so bright she has to squint, but she finds herself plummeting deeper into darkness, becoming unstable, untethered. As the months come and go and the seasons turn, she must confront what she has lost and what she will become.
At once tender and lacerating, luminous and unsettling, Yūko Tsushima's Territory of Lightis a novel of abandonment, desire, and transformation. It was originally published in twelve parts in the Japanese literary monthly Gunzo, between 1978 and 1979, each chapter marking the months in real time. It won the inaugural Noma Literary Prize.
We Love It Because
Brimming with an aching loneliness, a signature in Tsushima’s work, Territory of Light’is almost painful to read in its depictions of the quietly depressive and beautiful mundanity of single motherhood, of city-living and of finding oneself adrift. The montage of struggle and coming to terms with a transient sense of personhood, Tsushima’s protagonists are able to fill readers with a sense of the divine in mundane activity, even in loneliness.
Memorable Passage
The same night I dreamed I was sitting in a silver star shaped receptacle. It was spinning, gradually turning faster and faster, until I found my body plastered flat against its wall by centrifugal force. When I begged aloud for forgiveness, an old classmate from middle school looked up at my star and said: Why are you such a loser? We had been in the same class certainly, but she was an A student and we had never been close. She was always the class president and, what's more, she was good-looking and popular with the boys. While thinking how absurd it was to dream about her all those years, I was defending myself tearfully: Can I help it if I'm a loser? And even if I am, there are people who won't give up on me, there must be. The classmate shook her head sadly, and walked, still the same beautiful girl.
About the Author
Yuko Tsushima (1947–2016) was a renowned Japanese writer celebrated for her powerful and introspective literary works that explored the complexities of human relationships and societal expectations. Born in Tokyo, she was the daughter of famed Japanese novelist Osamu Dazai, and her early life was marked by personal tragedy, including the suicide of her father. Despite facing these challenges, Tsushima went on to carve her own literary path, earning widespread acclaim for her profound insights into the human condition. Her writing often delved into the struggles of women in a patriarchal society, addressing themes such as motherhood, identity, and the constraints of societal norms. Notable among her works is the novel "Woman Running in the Mountains," which garnered international recognition. Tsushima's unique narrative style and keen observations have left an indelible mark on Japanese literature, solidifying her legacy as a prominent voice in contemporary fiction.
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