Book Review: Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida
Tenuous human connections form this warm and heartfelt Japanese anthology
Europa Editions, 2024
You like looking back over the past?" Mitsuki asked.
"Hmm." Maeda paused for a moment to ponder. "I suppose I do," he answered with a nod.
"Does that mean you're not enjoying your current job?"
"No, it's not like that. The warehouse is comfortable enough. Szoo. You've got everything here. Makes you feel like you re standing guard over the whole world's treasures, you know?" He trailed off, pulling a thin smile. "It's just — how should I put this? — I like people. Mixing drinks in some little corner of Tokyo, you get to meet all sorts of folks. Szoo. Night after night, you get to talk to them. All strangers, mind you. It was fun, really … Yep, those were the good old days."
Mitsuki's next words poured out before she had a chance to think. "In that case, why don't you do it again?"
"What?"
"Bartending."
The prop procurer; the call centre worker; the maybe-detective; passengers linked by Matsui, an amiable taxi driver who plies his trade through the early hours in one of the world’s largest cities.
Goodnight Tokyo never outstays its welcome - a novella-sized palate cleanser where not a lot happens, and yet debut author Atsuhiro Yoshida manages to convey the depths of yearning and unrequited love in the implausibly intersecting lives of (extra)ordinary Tokyo residents.
As an English-language reader with a life-long interest in Japan and its people, Goodnight Tokyo is a fascinating peek. Highly recommended if you want more ‘slice of life’ short stories in your reading. If you’re like me, you’ll blast through it in one or two sittings.
Translated into English by Haydn Trowell.
This review originally appeared in Dispatch Edition #4.
The Dispatch is a monthly roundup by British speculative fiction writer, Jordan Acosta. News, short reviews and more, published every first Thursday. You can subscribe at jordanacosta.co, and read previous editions, here.
