SAKURA

A dog embodies a family’s love.

Writing her first novel, Nishi aimed to depict a family like her own, loving but not demonstrative, who communicated their feelings for one another through their dog, according to an afterword. Published in Japan in 2005, the story of the “fragile and vulnerable” Hasegawas became a popular success. Nishi’s gentle tale is narrated by Kaoru, who travels home to Osaka when his father, who has been away from the family for more than three years, suddenly returns. What draws Kaoru back most strongly is the family’s dog, Sakura, a female “Shiba Inu mix with black spots,” medium-sized, “with black leg markings that look like little boots. The black spots on the tip of the dog’s nose look like freckles.” She joined the family as a puppy and was immediately beloved by the three children: Hajime, the handsome elder son; Kaoru; and their sister, Miki, who carried the puppy home in her arms and named her. Kaoru recounts the children’s growing up in a bland suburb with a hardworking father and a devoted mother. Hajime was a kind, patient older brother, and Miki a strong-willed little girl, a handful in school, obsessively attached to Hajime. As the children enter puberty and become sexually active, their relationships with one another, and their sense of themselves, changes. Hajime’s sophisticated girlfriend, Kaoru’s tentative love for a classmate, Miki’s shunning of admirers, and their father’s unusual high school friendship disturb the family’s equilibrium. Most shattering, though, is a devastating accident, its tragic aftermath, and the revelation of a shocking secret. Nishi handles her characters with sympathy as they confront loss and grief, comforted through the darkness by their loyal Sakura.

A tender tale of love and pain.