Fate Never Sleeps in "Goodnight Tokyo"

By Aaron Coats on July 25, 2024

Atsuhiro Yoshida brings a secret side of Japan to life in his English-language debut Goodnight Tokyo, translated by Haydn Trowell. The hours between 1 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. are the prime-time setting for this series of related tales about characters who suffer from longing. Whether it is a person or a purpose, everyone is searching for a lost piece of themselves. Each character embarks upon a mini journey within the individual stories. Everyone is navigating the decisions that brought them to this point in their lives. Some characters even call it by name: fate.

In Yoshida's off-kilter world, Mitsuki encounters a woman in black scurrying up a fruit tree for DIY wine. Separately, Mitsuki questions her boyfriend whose engagement ring won't come off her finger in "The Loquat Thief." In "Lost at 4:00 a.m.," Kanako works at a call center disposing of its answering machine. In the meantime, she remembers her brother—a literal wandering spirit. Twelve years ago, he drifted away never to return. She worries even though he was an adult when he left. Kanako's loneliness rivals the souls who ring the call center in the wee hours for human interaction.

Matsui desperately hopes to find a woman he once chauffeured. He picks up Shuro in his taxi and quickly realizes they're drawn to the past in "Eighteen Keys." Shuro is a detective who spent the day visiting his eighteen past homes. He wants to see a movie starring his father whom he knows little about but learns more from a movie theater employee. In "Ham and Eggs," Ayano is one of four women who opened an all-night diner together. Ayano bemoans a long-lost love that ended abruptly but she refuses to label it a regret.

Yoshida shifts the theme of the book from longing to loss in "Veranda Bat." Moriizumi encounters a woman who's decided to move on because her companion passed away. They discuss the possibility of him returning to her in the form of the winged animal perched behind the curtain. Kanako on the other hand, takes a call from Eiko whose brand of loneliness is unique. Eiko is shy but tasked to live in a dormitory full of women set to appear in a film. In "A Rain of Feathers," an earthquake literally shakes things up but, much to Eiko's surprise, the scary incident brings the women closer together.

The characters in these stories cross paths in the most unusual ways. They appear in each other's stories, involving the reader in a series of mysteries. Each mystery reveals more as links are made between the people who are missing someone or something and the person or thing they seek. Several characters discuss fate, chance, and divine intervention as they learn to take control of their own stories. While in what she felt was a dream, Ayano purchases a footboard from a flight of steps from Ibaragi's strange second-hand store as a gesture of taking the next step in her life toward something more. For so long this cast of people felt unable to fully pursue who or whatever they long for, but Japan seems to provide them courage over time.

The chapters function as a collection of short stories, but Yoshida puts the reader just behind the ear of his characters so even with such short encounters, there is room to become invested in their lives. Because each person has endured significant loss and are all on the path to recovery, the vulnerability on display is relatable. Whether it's Shuro learning about his father, Kanako searching for her brother, Mitsuki finding the elusive peanut crusher, or Ayano reigniting her ambition, each journey offers a great amount of hope. The overall tone of the book is imbued with optimism—that despite living an unremarkable life, or feeling small in the midst of an unrelenting vastness, you can achieve your dreams.

Goodnight Tokyo feels a bit overstuffed given the number of characters and the brevity of the book. Perhaps this is meant to mirror elements of the city itself, but it is occasionally distracting. But Yoshida captures quite beautifully a quiet, in-between place where the moon is hiding, the sun is sleeping, but the populous of Tokyo is fully roused and searching through the mist of time for the meaning of life. The real strength of the book is its intimate yet subdued discussion about fate that won't leave the reader with any regrets.