The Emissary

By Yoko Tawada

Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Translation quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My recommendation: This winner of the National Book Award for translated literature is not only one of the best books by a Japanese author I’ve ever read—and the most stunningly excellent literary translation I’ve ever read—it’s one of the best (and nearly indescribable) examples of a genre I’d call Optimistic Post-Apocalyptic Fiction ever.

The Emissary is the story of a man raising his great-grandson in a near-future Japan where his generation of adults has acquired the dubious benefit of eternal life, becoming caretakers for successive generations of children whose cheerful wisdom is matched only by their increasing physical frailty. In this future reality, normalizing the present is a way of life, no matter how far it has deviated from the past.

But this is no dark dystopian tale of dog-eat-dog desperation that scenario might suggest. Instead, its cast of characters live out the daily challenges of life—which haven’t changed much, despite the world becoming so different—greeting each new hurdle with resourcefulness, it-can’t-be-helped practicality, and kindness, like the well-meaning, ordinary people they are.

What’s most baffling and thought-provoking about The Emissary is that the characters are funny and optimistic, despite living in a world in which every doomsday prediction about what man is doing to the environment has come true, and society has moved backwards in every way.

The descriptions of how Japanese society rationalized and apologized itself into such a mess ring hilariously and believably true, as do the ways that human beings adapt to a world that is changing for the worse by the day. It’s weirdly cheering to be inside the head of a character who remembers and mourns what has been lost, but enthusiastically adapts to making the best of the current reality, adjusting his expectations so he and his great-grandson can greet each day with hope and be happy, redefining the experiences that bring joy.

The Emissary shines a bright light onto the human trait of being infinitely adapatable, and is written in a gently humorous voice that invites the reader to consider whether being able to adapt to any reality or environment is man’s greatest strength…or greatest weakness.

Special shout-out to translator Margaret Mitsutani, who translated the Japanese with such wit and style, she retains all the plays on words (which is super hard to do) and manages to make opaque Japanese cultural references understandable through her choice of words and phrasing. Those who speak Japanese will get an extra laugh out of reverse-engineering the book’s amusingly euphemistic names for products and services, but they’re funny even if you read only English. If I could give more than five stars for translation, I would.

You can get it right now, or check out the September Japanagram Mini to see if you won a copy! All subscribers are automatically entered to win—if you’re not yet a member of this lucky group, click this button to subscribe, and be automatically signed up to enter.

How I pick the book giveaway winners: At the end of June, I will load all the email addresses of current Japanagram subscribers into an online random name picker and ask it to choose one lucky subscriber to get the book from this month’s review. I’ll publish the winner’s email in the next Japanagram (obscured in a way so only the subscriber will be able to recognize it as their own, of course) so check your September Japanagram Mini to see if you won!

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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had