Tokyo Ueno Station : Book Review


Book Review

Title: Tokyo Ueno Station
Author: Yu Miri
Genre: Translation (Japanese)

Tokyo Ueno Station was the winner of the 2020 National Book Award in the translated literature category. 

It's a heartrending  tale of a homeless ghost which haunts Ueno station-one of the busiest train stations in Tokyo. Kazu is dead and he had hoped that death would bring in some sort of closure and peace. Instead, he finds himself back at Ueno station where he had spent his last few years as a homeless man. As he observes other people, he traces back to his own life which had been ingrained in poverty, hardships, tragedy and separation from his family. 

Written in first person from the point of view of Kazu as a ghost, the story delves deep into the stream of consciousness of the character. He evokes a lot of sympathy as he expresses his remorse, regret and loneliness. The tone elicits a good amount of pain, interspersed with some anger at the social inequality and racial divide prevalent in Japan. He also brings to light some of the important incidents like the bombings, earhquake and Tsunami. 

Along with the themes of pain and loss, nuances of Buddhism are touched upon here. The writing is lyrical and the author brings in some imagery that blends in with the mood of the character. 

Tokyo Ueno Station is not an easy read. There are many layers to the story that are mournful and devastating. The author does a wonderful job of bringing out several contrasts and the impact of loss on the human psyche. A book that will continue to haunt you, even as you turn the last page over.


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