Enlarge Image
To embed a link to this book on your own website, please copy the code below.
Chorus of Mushrooms
By Hiromi Goto
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’Prize for Best First Book (Caribbean and Canadian Region)!
Co-winnerof the Canada-Japan Book Award!
HiromiGoto’s debut novel has become a Canadian classic. It is a powerful narrative ofthree generations of Japanese Canadian women on the Canadianprairies. ... Read more
Overview
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’Prize for Best First Book (Caribbean and Canadian Region)!
Co-winnerof the Canada-Japan Book Award!
HiromiGoto’s debut novel has become a Canadian classic. It is a powerful narrative ofthree generations of Japanese Canadian women on the Canadianprairies.
Funny, scandalous, and melancholic, thissuperlative narrative is filled with echoes and retellings, memories andJapanese folk tales. From The Tale of Genji to the CalgaryStampede, from sharing of recipes to hitchhiking the Trans-Canada highway, itweaves a story that slides between histories, countries, and desire. It is atimeless exploration of immigration and belonging.
Thistwentieth anniversary reprinting of the landmark novel includes an Afterword byLarissa Lai (When Fox is a Thousand, Salt Fish Girl) and aninterview with the author.
Excerpt
We lie in bed, listen to the clickof blinds, watch a thin thread of dusty cobweb weave back and forth, back andforth, in the waves of air we cannot see. The blankets and sheet are a heap atthe foot of the bed, and we are warm only where skin is touching skin. Myshoulder, my arm, the swell of my hip. The curve of my thigh. Lean lightly intoyou. My fingertips are icy, but I am too comfortable to move. To bother gettingup and arrange the blankets. I only want to savour the quiet of skin on skin. The murmur of our blood beneath our surface touch. Our breathing unconsciouslyfalls into a pattern, follows the movement of the strand of cobweb that weavesabove our heads. You lift your hand to rest its weight, the palm rough, justbeneath my breast.
“Will you tell me astory?” you ask. Eyes on the strand ofdust.
“Yes. ”
“Willyou tell me a story about yourObāchan?”
“Yes,” I close my eyes and breathedeeply. Slowly.
“Will you tell me a truestory?” you ask, with unconsciouslonging.
“A lot of people ask that. Haveyou ever noticed?” I roll onto my side. Prop my elbow and rest my chin, mycheek, into the curve of my hand. “It’s like people want to hear a story, andthen, after they’re done with it, they can stick the story back to where itcame from. You know?”
“Not really,” yousay, and slide a little lower, so that your head is nestled beneath my chin. Your face in my neck. “But will you still tellme?”
“Sure, but bear with my language,won’t you? My Japanese isn’t as good as my English, and you might not geteverything I say. But that doesn’t mean the story’s not there to understand. Wakatte kureru kashira? Can you listen before youhear?”
“Trust me,” yousay.
I pause. Take a deep breath, thenspiral into sound.
“Here’s a true story. ”
Mukāshi,mukāshi, ōmukashi …
Reviews
“Notonly is Goto’s language precise and evocative, she has crafted a complex andpoetic text that weaves realities and mysteries into a subtlepattern. ”
~ Edmonton Journal
“HiromiGoto, a Japanese-Canadian writer, has written a masterpiece of our times … Thereadability of the text is attributable to the author’s craftsmanship, and onefeels like reading it over and over again. ”
~ TheHerald (Harare, Zimbabwe)
“Hiromi Goto expertly layers the experiences ofa Japanese immigrant woman, her emotionally estranged daughter and her belovedgranddaughter into a complex fabric and compelling story. ”
~ OttawaCitizen
“Sucha love for words is evident in Chorus of Mushrooms, whichcontains passages of breathtaking beauty. ”
~ The Globe andMail
Reader Reviews
Tell us what you think!
Sign Up or Sign In to add your review or comment.
Related Blog Posts
Two Poems: I will be more myself in the next world
Matsuki Masutani's debut book of poetry is a minimalist bounty of gentle insight and quiet humour: I will be more myself in the next world (Mother Tongue Publishing) reflects on aging, marriage, family, dreams, the poet's Japanese roots, self-acceptance, and effects of ... Read more
Fall Preview 2020: Staff Picks
Cue the pumpkin spice lattes: fall books are lining the shelves. Check out which books All Lit Up staffers are excited for this season.
CanLit Rewind: Icefields by Thomas Wharton
In House: NeWest Press
In House is a regular column, highlighting the various publishers that have books featured and available for purchase on All Lit Up. Find out things like what sorts of books they publish, where in Canada they call home, and how they got their start.
- Published April 1, 2014
- Publisher NeWest Press
- Category Fiction
- Keywords Literary , Asian American , Magical Realism
Accessibility detail
- Accessibility summary
- EPUB Accessibility Specification 1.0 AA
- Table of contents navigation
- Index navigation
- Reading order
- Full alternative descriptions
- Print-equivalent page numbering
- Compatibility testedAce by Daisy; Thorium
- Publisher contact for further accessibility informationwww.newestpress.com
Other titles by Hiromi Goto
Get the All Lit Up Newsletter!
We'll send you bi-monthly updates to keep you in the loop on the best of our blog, special campaigns and offers, AND news on the latest in literary fiction, nonfiction and poetry from indie publishers across Canada.
You May Also Like
