Author's pentalogies compiled for first time
Japanese author Aki Shimazaki, who writes in French, has compiled her second pentalogy into a single collection for the first time. This work is part of a series of narrative cycles where characters from earlier volumes evolve into secondary roles in later ones, and vice versa. Circular narrative in the collection
The collection, titled At the Heart of Yamato - Complete Works of Aki Shimazaki, begins with Mitsuba, a character whose origins stem from the scattered destinies of employees at Goshima, an import-export company funded by the Sumida Bank. The company forces its receptionist Yûko to marry the son of the bank president, and her relationship with Takashi Aoki, the narrator, leads to the birth of Mitsuba. Narrative structure and themes
Aki Shimazaki explores themes of mimetic reproduction, where actions are repeated without conscious decision-making. Her use of first-person narration across different characters creates a sense of solidarity among them. For example, Takashi (Mitsuba) and Tsuyoshi (Zakuro) both lost their fathers at 45, with Tsuyoshi later helping Takashi’s family with compensation. Symbolism and dual meanings
The author uses symbols and titles to highlight dual meanings and possible reversals. The title Zakuro, meaning "grenade," also refers to "foolishness" and "ripe elegance." It connects to the red fruits Tsuyoshi’s father took before being deported to Siberia and to Soviet research on Japanese soldiers’ bodies. Similarly, Mitsuba means "vegetable" in katakana and "clover" in hiragana, two forms of Japanese syllabic writing. Aesthetic of flowers and fate
Flowers serve as a central motif in Aki Shimazaki’s work, symbolizing the funerary blossoming of lives and the possibility of alternative interpretations. In Tonbo, a character questions whether he could have broken a deadly bond with a classmate if he had not allowed himself to be bullied, highlighting the tension between fate and free will. Publication details
The collection is published by Actes Sud/"Domaine français" and will be available in bookstores on November 4.
