#mina's matchbox

[quillnqueer]

✨Interesting New Releases | 13th August

The Dollmakers: discover a world centered around destructive, all-consuming monsters; the magical dolls designed to fight this force; and the artisans tasked with creating demon-slaying dolls

Glass Houses: A group of employees and their CEO, celebrating the sale of their remarkable emotion-mapping-AI-alogorithm, crash onto a not-quite-deserted tropical island. 

Lady Macbeth: a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her.

Mina's Matchbox: a hypnotic, introspective novel about an affluent Japanese family navigating buried secrets, and their young house guest who uncovers them.

Through The Midnight Door: The Finch sisters once spent long, hot summers exploring the dozens of abandoned properties littering their dying town―until they found an impossible home with an endless hall of doors…and three keys left waiting for them. Curious, fearless, they stepped inside their chosen rooms, and experienced horrors they never dared speak of again.

[ijustkindalikebooks]

Review: Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa.

In the spring of 1972, after the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent by her mother to live for a year with her wealthy aunt and uncle. It is a year that will change her life. Her aunt’s family lives in a magnificent colonial mansion surrounded by sprawling gardens and the remnants of an old zoo, where the family’s pet pygmy hippopotamus still resides. The family is as beguiling as their home, but beneath their sophistication and charm lie darker undercurrents that Tomoko struggles to understand—her aunt’s misery, her handsome foreign uncle’s curious absences, her German great-aunt's experience of the Second World War. At the centre of the family is Tomoko’s cousin Mina, a precocious asthmatic girl who draws Tomoko into an intoxicating world full of secret crushes and elaborate storytelling, including the strange tales inspired by the illustrated matchboxes she collects beneath her bed. The two girls share confidences and enthusiasms, encounter heartache, and have their eyes opened to the workings of the adult world.

After reading The Housekeeper And The Professor, I knew I wanted to read more from this author and though it has taken me some time to get around to it, and I'm very glad I did, as we see a new re-release of her book, Mina's Matchbox.

Ogawa's style of writing for me is never something that lets me down. How this writer sets a scene and brings to life on the page the life of her characters is never something I am disappointed by and that is clear in this book, from the first pages where she talks about the pram to the last pages describing neighbourhoods passing through, this author really does make a sumptuous perspective of the world she is creating.

The story unfolds beautifully really, as we learn about Tomoko and the family she has been sent to live with. Mina and her's bond in these pages is brilliantly told and as the book goes on, we see the story unfolding as we take in Tomoko's story about moving to a new place and gaining her first steps of independence away from her parents.

I think one thing I am glad of is that I was able to take my time with this book and let it simmer in my mind, because it really a book packed with thought and emotion and a story to take your time with as it unravels in front of you.

I need to read more from this author.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC for honest review).

[start-with-words]

MACAQUE (noun) - a medium-sized, chiefly forest-dwelling Old World monkey which has a long face and cheek pouches for holding food.

I tried picturing the Fressy Zoological Garden spreading out in front of me. And it was very difficult to imagine, with plenty of space, a pond, a little hill, shade trees—all sorts of places that animals might like. The children could laugh and shout to their hearts’ content, the macaques scream as loud as they could, and still the trees on the hillside would easily absorb all the noise.

Source: Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa.

[gansey-like]

took a break from haikyuu to read my book and the girls who are the main characters are getting really into......the 1972 japanese men's olympic volleyball team. either they are inescapable or the universe is trying to tell me something

[marrowfriend]

Yeah maybe everything bad that happens to me emotionally related is just the angels flying next to my ears preventing me from evil futures. Thanks Yoko Ogawa

[notreallyherehahaha]

A New Book, by the Amazing Yoko Ogawa

From the back cover: “Yoko Ogawa is a quiet wizard, casting her words like a spell, conjuring a world of curiosity and enchantment, secrets and loss. I read Mina’s Matchbox like a besotted child, enraptured, never wanting it to end.” ~~Ruth Ozeki, author of The Book of Form and Emptiness

[notmorbid]

mina's matchbox.

dialogue prompts from mina's matchbox: a novel by yōko ogawa.

hold on tight. don't let go.

is this really your house?

this is where mom hides to drink.

how did i get so lucky?

you have to be brave, if we're gonna be friends.

is that any way to say hello to ____?

order whatever you like.

go back to bed. it'll be alright.

you never showed me this place.

your voice always brings me back.

you can't choose your father. he's just there when you're born.

first impressions matter. don't be intimidated.

was _____ a friend of yours?

i'm sorry i always seem to leave you with unpleasant memories.

it's windy. put your jacket on.

you look just the same.

i don't like it when you leave me.

the important thing is the message, not the form it takes.

i've never seen you take a single day off.

it's not that i don't like babies. they just frighten me.

did you know shooting stars are made when stars die?

the night's a lot longer than i thought it was.

try to stay calm.

where are we going? is it far?

i'm sorry for how much trouble i've been.

even when you die, you don't disappear. matter doesn't vanish, it transforms.

time slips away much more quickly than we can imagine when we're young.

the past is still alive. still watching over us.

you're as much a dandy as ever.

____ talks most about you.

i was afraid there might be nothing left of it.

nothing can spoil your memories.

[pantheonbooks]

From the author of The Memory Police comes Mina’s Matchbox—a hypnotic novel of family secrets, quiet enchantments, and a young houseguest who unearths them. ✨📖

“Effervescent.” —NYT Book Review

On sale now!

[asvntf]

“But you can’t get rid of the stories you’ve written,” I said. “You know how much I love them."

"I’ll be sure to keep them. I’ll put them in a box and write on the lid: 'Here lie stories that had only one reader.’ Then I’ll store the box in the baby carriage up in the attic.”

- Mina's matchbox, Yoko Ogawa

[shonk]

Books 2024

Mickey7, Edward Ashton The Sellout, Paul Beatty The Mystery of the Blue Train, Agatha Christie The Lies of the Land, Steven Conn Abaddon’s Gate, James S. A. Corey Babylon’s Ashes, James S. A. Corey Caliban’s War, James S. A. Corey Cibola Burn, James S. A. Corey Leviathan Falls, James S. A. Corey Leviathan Wakes, James S. A. Corey Memory’s Legion, James S. A. Corey The Mercy of Gods, James S. A. Corey Nemesis Games, James S. A. Corey Persepolis Rising, James S. A. Corey Tiamat’s Wrath, James S. A. Corey Number Go Up, Zeke Faux How Comics Were Made, Glenn Fleishman Six Centuries of Type & Publishing, Glenn Fleishman Heroes, Stephen Fry Mythos, Stephen Fry The Devil & Sherlock Holmes, David Grann Karla’s Choice, Nick Harkaway Bad Actors, Mick Herron Joe Country, Mick Herron London Rules, Mick Herron The Secret Hours, Mick Herron Slough House, Mick Herron Standing by the Wall, Mick Herron Dust, Hugh Howey Shift, Hugh Howey Veridian Sterling Fakes It, Jennifer Gooch Hummer The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro Flash Boys: Not So Fast, Peter Kovac The MANIAC, Benjamín Labatut Money Men, Dan McCrum Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry The Burglary, Betty Medsger Kissa by Kissa, Craig Mod Things Become Other Things, Craig Mod The Armageddon Protocol, Dan Moren The Housekeeper and the Professor, Yoko Ogawa The Memory Police, Yoko Ogawa Mina’s Matchbox, Yoko Ogawa Brother Cadfael’s Penance, Ellis Peters The Heretic’s Apprentice, Ellis Peters The Hermit of Eyton Forest, Ellis Peters The Holy Thief, Ellis Peters The Potter’s Field, Ellis Peters A Rare Benedictine, Ellis Peters The Raven of the Foregate, Ellis Peters The Rose Rent, Ellis Peters The Summer of the Danes, Ellis Peters Dissolution, C. J. Sansom A Swim in the Pond in the Rain, George Saunders Tenth of December: Stories, George Saunders Seeing Like a State, James C. Scott Polostan, Neal Stephenson The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharpe, Leonie Swann The Big Roads, Earl Swift The Secret History, Donna Tartt After World, Debbie Urbanski The Road to Roswell, Connie Willis

[softlypaintedseafoam]

aww thanks for the tag, @chibinasuu! looking at your last read gave me some new books to add to my tbr list!

Favorite Colors: Blue's been my favorite color since I was kid. Not even any particular shade of blue, every single shade is just as beautiful as the last I've seen. It's the color of the ocean (my fave place) and the sky, I'm truly winning when it comes to this choice

Currently Reading: I just started "Mina's Matchbox" by Yoko Ogawa and I'm also reading the first installment of the Wheel of Time series. The latter series is a franchise both of my moms love and I have wanted me to read for years and since I have a bit more free time, I'm finally giving it a read!

Last Song: ZayDante's parody song about when artists stop being relatable jfsdnkfjn

Last Film: A Thai film called "Not Friends". It's sooo so so good, it's good that I'm linking the trailer right here! I've made two friends watch it and one of my moms TAT it got me right in the fucking heart

Sweet/Salty/Sour: Salty/savory all day. I love sweets but if it's too sweet, I can't finish it and sour is nice but there's just something about a good savory dish that makes one go to heaven. Spicy food is really good too (I'm always a sucker for mango sticky rice though)

Tea or Coffee: Mom2's boyfriend calls me a 'tea' addict because of the extensive collection of teas I have in the cupboard. It's only a problem when I run out, guys. No one judge me. It's healthy for you gfngdfkjgn I really like having madeleines with lavender chamomile tea but I'm out... of both OTL

Working On: I have a few WIPs I'm working on right now but two in particular are a Zonami fic for OP rarepair week that is growing entirely out of hand in terms of length and the other is a little something called "Into Your Blue" from Lusan. I'm trying to get back into writing so I can work on my x reader WIPs since I've been dealing with writer's block and it's going pretty well, I think!

tagging: @hash-slinging-slasher-trash @sheerxfiction @traflawgar @triangularz @luffydotcom @citrinae

[start-with-words]

TROUSSEAU (noun) - the clothes, linen, and other belongings collected by a bride for her marriage.

Grandmother Rosa, seated before the makeup mirror she brought from Germany as part of her trousseau, carefully rubbing her face with beauty cream.

Source: Yoko Ogawa, in Mina's Matchbox.

[enigmaticxbee]

3, 5 and 17 for the book asks!

Thanks! 💕

3. What were your top five books of the year?

If I pick from new (to me) reads:

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (audiobook narrated by Meryl Streep!)

The Hunter by Tana French

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa

5. What genre did you read the most of?

I think almost half the books I read would fit into the mystery genre. I found a couple of new mystery authors this year, which is great because I’m picky, there are some popular authors in this genre that I’m not in to.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

My dad gave me Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa for my birthday - I didn’t know anything about the book or author and I was pleasantly surprised by it, it was an interesting little story. And featured a pygmy hippo, which I assumed was made up until the internet became obsessed with Moo Deng and I learned they’re real animals!

[thebrainglitter]

Just found out Yoko Ogawa is a Zionist… you learn something new every day. Releasing a translation of Mina’s Matchbox where she describes Palestinian resistance fighters as terrorists and how “their sweat is the blood of all the Israelis they killed” in 2024 during a graphic and televised genocide of Palestinians is crazy, that’s for sure. It’s disgusting and disappointing but it’s a reminder of how normalized Zionism and its propaganda is everywhere.

How ingrained this ideology is that nobody at the publishing house, from the translator or editor or even Yoko Ogawa herself didn’t think to correct this, edit it out or even issue a statement or clarify her views in an introduction regarding this inclusion (which just shows that nobody involved in writing or publishing this book found that describing Palestinian resistance to a brutal occupation and genocide in such a way in the book is wrong or disturbing), especially since the people who did read this say that it is never addressed again or has anything to do with the novel itself. It’s a pointless inclusion for the sake of painting Palestinians as the oppressors and Israelis as the victims and nothing more. Which I hope everyone knows is pure bullshit. Anyway, from the river to the sea Palestine will be free. Let’s hope sooner rather than later.

These photos belong to deadtreesreader on twitter who pointed this out.

[glyph-dove]

10.01.2024 ✦ Resting at my desk before work, writing up my October TBR:

Finish The Passion According to G. H. (Clarice Lispector)

The Little Sparrow Murders (Seishi Yokomizo)

Mina's Matchbox (Yoko Ogawa)

Transit and Kudos (Rachel Cusk)

Days of Abandonment (Elena Ferrante)

I didn't read much in September due to some unexpected traveling and trouble concentrating... Hopefully October will be better! 📔

[theeditingroominsunset]

Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa (Harvill Secker (an imprint of Vintage, Penguin Random House) / August 2024)