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A review by millennial_dandy
The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo
4.0
This was a delightful read with one of those irresistibly original premises that seem so often to be the only good thing about them. Happily in this case, Talarigo's writing and introspective musings on the indomitable need for self-actualization no matter what limitations are put on a human life do the premise justice.
Miss Fuji is an achingly genuine protagonist, and through her story we are submerged in the world of pearl divers and lepers in post-war Japan. Though the metaphor of the title feels a bit on the nose, there's a distinct subtleness to its application in the story that is almost never immidiate. Like a pearl, the work of making something beautiful out of something ugly takes time.
What amounts to a sprawling narrative spanning over 40 years is packed into a modest 237 pages with nary a word wasted. Just like time in the real world, the events of Pearl Diver seem at once to linger and go by in a flash.
While Talarigo's writing isn't what I'd call lyrical, there is a real dreaminess to his style.
I read 'Pearl Diver' in the height of winter, but it feels like the kind of novel one ought to read under the shade of a tree or under an umbrella on some forgotten beach. If you do, look up from time to time, and you might catch Miss Fuji waving at you from the shore of the Nagashima leprosarium.
Miss Fuji is an achingly genuine protagonist, and through her story we are submerged in the world of pearl divers and lepers in post-war Japan. Though the metaphor of the title feels a bit on the nose, there's a distinct subtleness to its application in the story that is almost never immidiate. Like a pearl, the work of making something beautiful out of something ugly takes time.
What amounts to a sprawling narrative spanning over 40 years is packed into a modest 237 pages with nary a word wasted. Just like time in the real world, the events of Pearl Diver seem at once to linger and go by in a flash.
While Talarigo's writing isn't what I'd call lyrical, there is a real dreaminess to his style.
I read 'Pearl Diver' in the height of winter, but it feels like the kind of novel one ought to read under the shade of a tree or under an umbrella on some forgotten beach. If you do, look up from time to time, and you might catch Miss Fuji waving at you from the shore of the Nagashima leprosarium.