Losing Myself in Reading

 Mild Vertigo by Mieko Kanai 

(translated by Polly Barton)

Mild Vertigo book cover

I had a hard time determining my overall rating of this book. At times, I felt a little lost in this book, but towards the end  of the book, I realized that Kanai was presenting the life of a housewife, one who has given up her life to be dedicated to her family. This has led her to a kind of mindless existence that Kanai conveys through the minutia and doldrums of the day. Maybe that is why I experienced a sense of disorientation or disassociation while reading it. In one section in particular, we experience the woman’s perspective in the market, looking at a list of products. I had to read this a few times to really appreciate it. Whether it is critical about the consumerist culture we face, or how we have to select the things that sustain us and our families, it was an interesting way to challenge how we think about families and those who are caretakers in particular. I’m really glad that I read this book, and it is definitely a book I would like to revisit to see what else I uncover in a second, more detailed read. I also think this book would be interesting for a book club—I would love to hear what others think about this book. However, I can also see how this book might be somewhat divisive and that others might find it boring or not too action packed. It is more of an exploration of a woman’s experience in Japan as she thinks about caring for her family. In some ways, I think it builds on that experience of Japanese literature that started with Lady Sarashina’s As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams, where we learn more about the life and experiences through both their inner thoughts and their outer experiences. It also reminded me of Yuko Tsushima’s Territory of Light, but almost like what would have happened if this woman left her family. Both novels have the kind of inner quality and explore the thoughts and feelings of the characters, particularly challenging our ideas and conceptions of what it means to be a woman, wife and mother.