From the start of this book you find out one of the main characters Miwako has committed suicide.
You are not told why and that is the stories objective to unravel the whole mystery through learning about her from those closest to her, her friends, boyfriend and family and showing off examples of her personality, what made her so desperate?. But most of the characters in this book have secrets or issues and many are addressed in this well crafted sympathetic story..
The ending was unexpected and a felt a little let down by it but overall I enjoyed this authors style. The writing flowed and I get what some reviewers mean by the 'Murakami vibe'.
A book I would recommend.
My thanks go to the publishers, author and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for a honest review.

(I recieved an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

In short, this lovely but deep and heartbreaking book resembled a more inclusive version of Murakami, which was not a let down at all. I simply loved it, and the only reason as to why I'm mentally giving it 4.75/5 stars is the little big break of like three days that I took in the middle of it (which was kind of my fault) and the fact that the magical realism only made its appearance in the last pages (which was kind of the book's fault).
There's no need for me to put a trigger warning on this book for suicide and grief, because the synopsis is pretty clear on that, but I would also like to point out a few other aspects (which I thought were handled very well but might nonetheless be triggering to some people): bullying, sexual abuse, sexual assault. I won't dwell too much on this subject, because I risk giving away important details which I think make the book what it is. Although it seems like the synopsis basically tells you the most important thing that could happen, it doesn't. The story is so much more than that.
I found the writing style to be quite whimsical and not really flowery, but... It gave me that flowery, magical vibe without actually bearing the obvious characteristics of such a style. The effort that the author put into describing the scenery around the characters in such a simple way, but so as to make the reader actually feel the wind, the raindrops, the people chattering in the background, is to be appreciated.
The characters... They all went through traumas that made them who they are, who they were, and they assumed their characteristics in one way or another. If not all of them, at least the vast majority of them did. And now that we came to talk of characters, the inclusivity of an LGBTQ+ character (I will not say the actual letter the character identifies with because I think that might be a spoiler) in such a strict and severe society as the Japanese one, in such a family as one of priests, was simply flawless in my opinion. I can't speak for the representation myself, as I do not belong to the respective part of the LGBTQ+ community, but the fact that not only did we see the struggles that the character faces in the present time with the assumed identity, but also the struggles that the character faced upon getting to this point, made the whole representation seem very realistic.
The ending of the book had me gasping. I know it's kind of the role that magical realism plays: you never know for sure what you're gonna get in the end. But this time, at least for me, it was different. The author dropped hints all throughout the novel as to what the ending might be and I had a pretty close guess, but it still managed to impress me quite a bit.
I am surely going to order this book in the near future, as it has become one of my favourites. I recommend it to whoever is into magical realism, Japanese fiction and twisted tales, but take into account the triggers. It is not really that graphic in my opinion, but it still needs to be pointed out.

(One of the longest reviews I've ever written and I could ramble even more - if how much I came to love this book wasn't obvious already!!!!)

“Before I knew it had happened, I’d fallen in love with Miwako Sumida...Eight months later, she hanged herself.
But I wouldn’t let her death slip past me. She’d wanted to tell me something, and I had to find out what it was.”
So begins the story of Miwako Sumida, and her closest friends’ quest to find out why she took her own life. This novel is, in my opinion, as close to perfect as it gets, and it saddens me that it doesn’t seem to be on many people’s radar. The storytelling is simple, beautiful and poignant, and the characters have real depths to them which unfold as the story goes on. It is a beautiful exploration of identity.
I am not usually a fan of the supernatural in literature, but the way it is used in this novel is gentle and only adds to the beauty of the story.
I could rave about this novel for hours, but instead please just let me implore you to add this to the top of the To Read list!

This book is a perfect example of why I'm obsessed with Asian literature. A beautiful, quiet study of character wrapped up in a psychological mystery.

This is the story of Miwako who was only a sophomore when she decided to commit suicide. We follow siblings Ryusei and Fumi. Ryusei was in love with Miwako and Fumi was her friend/boss. On their journey, through grief, we start to discover more and more about the mysterious life of Miwako Sumida and the events that led to her death. We also learn more about this brother-sister duo who have an incredibly heartbreaking history themselves.

The core of the story is pretty chilling and sad but the execution of this book makes the story feel heartwarming at the same time.

There is a beautiful sibling relationship which I love, Asian trans representation, mystery, secrets, twists and paranormal elements too. I highly recommend picking this one up!

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida follows a group of friends in Tokyo as they come to terms with the sudden suicide of Miwako Sumida, a solitary and secretive Waseda University student. The story is broken into three narrative sections as the 'love interest', best friend and her love interest's sister piece together the reason why Sumida took her own life.

I'm afraid this book was not for me at all. The writing was sparse and the dialogue unnatural, leading the whole story to feel flat and devoid of feeling. The narrative seemed directionless, and the plot meandering. The magical realism aspect came from nowhere and felt a little tacked on.

As for the characters, each felt completely without depth. I just couldn't warm to their individual narratives. Fumi's storyline had so much potential, and yet her own struggles, social issues, challenges, thoughts and feelings were completely sidelined and never explored. Characters never reacted to anything emotional in any meaningful way, despite the novel covering a full range of tragedies. Moreover, despite taking place after Sumida's death, we never fully get to see how the characters respond to or deal with their grief and loss aside from some flippant comments about crying. This is almost immediately overshadowed by the mystery of why she committed suicide, the answer to which is in itself only briefly tackled and never unpacked.

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is a sad, even harrowing read, but it is also beautiful and engrossing. Most of the narrative follows Ryusei, who has always been devoted to Miwako, as he attempts to find out why she died. However, Goenawan makes sure not to neglect other important characters, and includes two captivating chapters that provide backstories for Fumi and Chio. The in-depth character explorations here really helped to flesh the novel out and bring it to life as the pieces of the mystery were resolved slowly.

The resolution was unique in its own way, and though elements of this story were strange, it worked really well overall. I felt at times as if I were reading Murakami, so similiar are some of the elements and so well does Goenawan write. I will definitely be reading more of her work in the future.

Thanks to Scribe UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I really loved this book. We start out knowing that Miwako Sumida took her own life and spend the book slowly unraveling what lead to that point through multiple point's of view. The guy from school that was in love with her, that she could never let herself love back. The best friend that knew her secret identity and deepest secrets. The employer who is trans and has her own special gifts that we get to learn more about towards the end of the book.

It was a very touching and heart warming read laced with plenty of grief and sadness. Through Miwako's death we see the people closest to her facing themselves and tackling their own lives and figuring out how to move on. It was so interesting and well written how Miwako's story slowly unfolds through the people closest to her.

This book obviously does tackle many serious subjects including suicide, rape, sexual assault, abortion and bullying. It is a book I see myself revisiting in the future even if I did have slight issues with how it ended and I am looking forward to picking up her other book, Rainbirds.

A great book with lots of depth. You find out Miwako commits suicide within the first few pages and after that, it documents the details and story leading up to her tragic death. Beautifully written with well-developed characters, this is a solid 4 star read for me.

What a story full of surprises. I am a very big fan of Japanese literature and I think the author, Clarissa Goenawan has done a fantastic and very convincing Japanese novel although she is a Singaporean/ Indonesian writer. The flow of her writing and the atmosphere is very close to some Japanese novels I have read such as Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, for example. Although, there is some moments in the book where I am not convinced the behaviours are very culturally coherent,I think this is a great piece.

We follow the life of Miwako, the quirky misunderstood teenage girl, Ryu, the sweet boy with a difficult past and Fumi-nee, the gorgeous hard-working big sister. It is a story filled with mysteries and surprises but also social issues such as abuse, bullying, transgender awareness and suicide. Throughout this book, you realise that you can never know someone fully, their stories, or their sadness.

I did really enjoyed this story and read it in one setting. What I love most about Japanese literature is it’s magical realism. I felt that it was introduced in the last section but was a little bit out of the blue for me. I wish there has been some connections earlier in the book.

Overall this is a great novel, and I’m looking forward to another novel from this author. Thank you so much Net Galley, the publisher and the author for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is a fascinating character-study piece. The story delves into many themes, but with a particular focus on identity and how it can impact relationships and our sense of self. The LGBT aspects of the tale are nicely handled, and the story moved along at a good pace. The prose style was simple yet thoughtful, and I was always keen to keep turning the pages. The slight fantasy tinges here and there also blended well with the rest of the story, and I found the ending satisfying. Overall, an enjoyable read and I would certainly be interested in picking up more books by Goenawan in the future. 4.5 stars from me.

3 ½ stars

With grace and clarity Clarissa Goenawan's The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida tells a tragic yet tender tale, one that begins with an ending: Miwako Sumida, a university student, has committed suicide.

The novel is divided in three sections, each one following a person who cared for Miwako: there is Ryusei Yanagi (the only first-person narrative) who was in love with her, Chie Ohno, her best friend since high school, and Fumi Yanagi, Ryusei's older sister. Miwako's death leaves them reeling, from shock, grief, and guilt, and forces them to question how well they knew her and whether they could have some intervened or prevented Miwako from committing suicide.
Through their different perspectives readers will slowly come to know Miwako. While we may guess what she might have been 'hiding' from her loved ones, Miwako retains an air of unknowability. In each section the characters find themselves revisiting their memories of her, giving many scenes a bittersweet quality. Perhaps the setting too contributes to this sense of nostalgia (most of the story takes place in the mid-to-late 80s).
Through her luminous prose Goenawan sheds light on a painful subject matter. Like her characters, she doesn't romanticise nor condemns Miwako's actions, rendering instead with empathy the pain that drove her to commit suicide. Goenawan demonstrates the same delicacy when touching upon subjects such as sexual abuse and bullying.
I felt lulled by gentle pace of this novel, even as the story explored distressing realities. Friendships, family history, gender, and sexuality play an important role in each narrative, and I found Goenawan's portrayal of these to be extremely compelling.

As much as I loved Goenawan's evocative prose and her well-drawn characters, I was underwhelmed by the overarching storyline. The last section, which followed one of the characters I liked the most, seems far more meandering than the previous ones as it seems to move away from Miwako. And while I do count myself as a fan of magical realism, here it felt a bit sudden.
The ending was rushed and left me wanting more. Still, I would definitely reccomend this to those who enjoy literary fiction.

It's essentially a whydunit set in late 80s Japan, and as the title suggests we are supposed to wonder why a young girl with a seemingly charmed if not average life, has brutally cut it short.

We are introduced to Miwako outside of her dark complexities and the novel slowly reveals them through the split perspectives of three other characters close to Miwako when she was alive: Chie, her good friend, and siblings Ryusei and Fumi who are in love with her/hire her respectively.

It was for these three that I kept reading, not Miwako. I didn't actually like her, you know, the titular character around whom the novel revolves. I found Miwako awkward, difficult, and annoying and not endearingly so. So many people in love or are platonically obsessed with her, which always irks me as a trope but even more so when said character is supposed to be plain and generally unassuming, if not openly passive aggressive to others. I think she is supposed to be enigmatic but I found her standoffish and often rude, even to her supposed friends. If it hadn't been for her more charismatic acquaintances I think I probably would have DNF'D, not really caring to unravel the mystery behind her choice.

The trio who share the narrative however, are so engaging, their characters are so fleshed out as individuals despite the story revolving around the mystery of Miwako's suicide. Reading about them was a pleasure and I almost wished the story were about something else, so I could explore their lives further. There were quite a few cliches in dialogue and action and I really wasn't sure at all about the big reveal and whether it made sense, but I can't deny that I was reading it until 2am and I enjoyed the writing style.

I would read more of Goenawan's work. However, I'm not sure what it says about a piece of work where I care so little about the titular character/the catalyst for the novel's events.

This book was like a breath of fresh air. It's short, beautiful, and harrowing. It tells the story of Mikawo's friendships and how she came to commit suicide. You find out she committed suicide in the first few pages and you spend the rest of the novel experiencing her growing friendships, love, and trauma in the lead up to her suicide. There's a beautiful love story at the heart. I adored these two character's relationship and the way trauma manifests for the protagonist. It touches on important topics of gender, youth, and family which felt all the more powerful during of #PrideMonth. Though there's a simplicity to the writing the characters are well developed and you really feel like you come on a journey with them. Highly recommend.

The ending was so unexpected and way better than what I can imagine. Fumi's story is like beautiful sceneries, and I was slowly driven past by the author to the destination. I loved every character in this story because everyone is so genuine, and this story is so successful portraying the different sides of them. My most favourite part is Fumi's story, especially her secret ability or a 'curse', as what she calls it. The entire story was a mixture of light and dark, and it was beautifully written. Every character has a very unusual past. And they are striving to move on from the past, which slowly creeping into their lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribe UK for providing me with a free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is the story of an enigmatic,to the point of being strange,young woman and her small circle of friends. When Miwako commits suicide her friends try to solve the riddle of her life, who she really was and where she came from. after she briefly flitted through their lives. Ryusei, the boy who loved her despite being rebuffed whenever he mentioned romance,and her best friend Chie travel to the remote mountainside village where she spent her last days while Ryusei's sister Fumi stays at home where she ponders her own relationship with Miwako.
In life it's hard to understand why the small group are drawn to Miwako, she's difficult, lacks social skills and is not particularly likeable but as the story unfolds the reasons for her spiky personality and reluctance to reveal her past become clear.
I wasn't sure what to make of this book at the start but very soon got into it. It's quirky,insightful and has a touch of the supernatural,something I'm not usually keen on but it works very well.
All of the characters have their own stories , are just as interesting as Miwako and like her Chie and Fumi have re-invented themselves and have hidden depths.
Something a bit different that I really enjoyed.

Thanks to Clarissa Goenawan, Scribe UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.