Banana Yoshimoto's novels of young life in Japan have made her an international sensation. Goodbye Tsugumi, called a "witty, perceptive novel" by Elle, is an offbeat story of a deep and complicated friendship between two female cousins that ranks among her best work. Maria is the only daughter of an[...]

Here is an awesomely inventive novel about language, expression, and the creative process that courageously refuses to take refuge in pretentious inaccessibility. No literal description of Sayonara, Gagsters' plot could ever do it justice--you gotta read it to understand it.[...]