Description

A mesmerising novel set in Japan, by the author of Rainbirds and The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, about a young man trying to escape his past.

When Shoji Arai crosses one of his company’s most powerful clients, he must leave Akakawa immediately or risk his life. But his girlfriend Yoko is nowhere to be found.

Haunted by dreams of drowning and the words of a fortune teller who warned him away from three women with water in their names, he travels to Tokyo, where he tries in vain to track Yoko down. But Shoji soon realises that not everything Yoko told him about herself was true. Who is the real woman he once lived with and loved, and where could she be hiding?

Watersong is a spellbinding novel of loves lost and recovered, of secrets never spoken, and of how our pasts shape our futures.

Publisher Review

'Goenawan's chilling latest delivers one startling revelation after another ... Goenawan sustains a fast pace all the way to a shocking and satisfying conclusion. This author continues to impress.' * Publishers Weekly * 'Watersong transports the reader to worlds both familiar and unknown. Clarissa Goenawan's crisp narration and vivid characters made this novel feel like a lingering dream. This is an intriguing and soul-stirring story about how we reconcile with our pasts.' -- Balli Kaur Jaswal, author of The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters 'Haunting, dreamy, and deeply atmospheric, Watersong is a jewel box of a novel, spilling forth with stories within stories, each a perfect, gleaming tribute to lost love, past secrets, and the enduring quest for human connection amidst it all.' -- Kirstin Chen, author of Soy Sauce for Beginners 'An atmospheric mystery, elegantly told.' -- Winnie M. Li, author of Dark Chapter 'There is a lot of style ... this author will indeed have a long career.' -- Joe Horgan * Irish Examiner * 'A compelling novel ... Watersong is a captivating and nuanced exploration of love.' -- Akina Hansen * Good Reading Magazine * '[T]ruly magnificent. It touches the soul while exploring the cognitive aspects that have lingered behind certain elements of society ... Truly a work of art ... Watersong will be one that must be considered as a top contender for memorability, and characterisation of the highest degree.' -- Chris Reed * NZ Booklovers * Praise for The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida: '[A] complex, interpersonal mystery ... [A] tremendous examination of sadness ... [A] book with heart about the mysteries of the heart.' -- Benjamin Welton * New York Journal of Books * Praise for The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida 'An offbeat, tender exploration of the secrets we keep from others ... Goenawan is clearly a talented and creative storyteller ... She excels at suspense, keeping the reader guessing with left-field plot developments and forays into magic realism that somehow seem in keeping with realities on the ground.' * The Irish Times * Praise for The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida: 'Vivid and intriguing - an elegantly cryptic, poetically plotted Murakami-esque whydunit.' -- Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti