Mika in Real Life
Autor Emiko Jeanen Limba Engleză Paperback – 2 aug 2022
Observăm în Mika In Real Life o structură narativă care pendulează delicat între fațada unei vieți ideale și realitatea crudă a unui prezent dezordonat. La treizeci și cinci de ani, Mika Suzuki simte că a eșuat pe toate planurile, însă un telefon de la Penny, fiica pe care a dat-o spre adopție în adolescență, îi oferă o șansă neașteptată la redempțiune. Ne-a atras atenția modul în care Emiko Jean construiește această minciună albă care se rostogolește incontrolabil, forțând-o pe protagonistă să joace rolul unei femei de succes pentru a fi demnă de iubirea fiicei sale. Tonul este unul reflexiv, punctat de momente de umor fin, reușind să captureze complexitatea legăturilor de sânge și a celor alese. Amintește de You Be Mother de Meg Mason prin explorarea profundă a relațiilor feminine și a dorinței de a aparține unei familii perfecte, dar se diferențiază prin accentul pus pe identitatea culturală japoneză și pe efortul sisific de a reconcilia trecutul cu prezentul. Față de lucrările sale anterioare, precum Tokyo Ever After, unde explorase tema prințesei descoperite într-un cadru de basm modern pentru tineri, Emiko Jean adoptă aici o perspectivă mult mai matură și vulnerabilă. Deși cadrul este unul de ficțiune contemporană, ritmul este susținut de tensiunea iminentă a adevărului care amenință să iasă la iveală, transformând lectura într-o meditație despre curajul de a fi tu însuți în fața celor pe care îi iubești.
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Specificații
ISBN-10: 0063242060
Pagini: 480
Dimensiuni: 150 x 226 x 28 mm
Greutate: 0.5 kg
Ediția:Text mare
Editura: Harpercollins
De ce să citești această carte
Recomandăm această carte cititorilor care caută o poveste emoționantă despre a doua șansă și despre complexitatea maternității. Este o lectură ideală pentru cei care au apreciat explorările identitare din literatura contemporană, oferind o perspectivă onestă asupra modului în care ne construim măștile sociale. Veți câștiga o înțelegere mai profundă a legăturilor dintre generații și a procesului dificil de iertare de sine.
Despre autor
Emiko Jean este o autoare de succes, cunoscută inițial pentru romanele sale dedicate publicului tânăr, precum Tokyo Ever After, care a devenit bestseller New York Times. Pe lângă cariera sa literară, a lucrat ca învățătoare de matematică, experiența sa cu copiii din sistemul de asistență socială inspirându-i debutul în proză. Locuiește în regiunea Pacific Northwest, unde își împarte timpul între scris și pasiunea sa neobișnuită pentru entomologie, explorând pădurile pentru a studia specii rare de molii și colonii de insecte, elemente de observație minuțioasă care se reflectă adesea în atenția sa pentru detaliul uman.
Descriere scurtă
In this brilliant new novel from Emiko Jean, the author of the New York Times bestselling young adult novel Tokyo Ever After, comes a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny, and utterly heartwarming novel about motherhood, daughterhood, and love—how we find it, keep it, and how it always returns.
One phone call changes everything.
At thirty-five, Mika Suzuki’s life is a mess. Her last relationship ended in flames. Her roommate-slash-best friend might be a hoarder. She’s a perpetual disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents. And, most recently, she’s been fired from her latest dead-end job.
Mika is at her lowest point when she receives a phone call from Penny—the daughter she placed for adoption sixteen years ago. Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and in turn, Mika longs to be someone Penny is proud of. Faced with her own inadequacies, Mika embellishes a fact about her life. What starts as a tiny white lie slowly snowballs into a fully-fledged fake life, one where Mika is mature, put-together, successful in love and her career.
The details of Mika’s life might be an illusion, but everything she shares with curious, headstrong Penny is real: her hopes, dreams, flaws, and Japanese heritage. The harder-won heart belongs to Thomas Calvin, Penny’s adoptive widower father. What starts as a rocky, contentious relationship slowly blossoms into a friendship and, over time, something more. But can Mika really have it all—love, her daughter, the life she’s always wanted? Or will Mika’s deceptions ultimately catch up to her? In the end, Mika must face the truth—about herself, her family, and her past—and answer the question, just who is Mika in real life?
Perfect for fans of Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age, Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and Rebecca Serle’s In Five Years, Mika in Real Life is at once a heart-wrenching and uplifting novel that explores the weight of silence, the secrets we keep, and what it means to be a mother.
Recenzii
“A poignant coming-of-age story that deals with race, adoption, and bodily autonomy.” — Marie Claire, A ReadWithMC pick (September 2022)
“Jean (Tokyo Ever After, 2021) sets her novel within the Asian American community of Portland, Oregon. Her characters are modern and honest, and the romance is realistic. Smart, funny, and affecting.” — Booklist (starred review)
"Jean gently balances the comedy of Mika juggling her fabrications with the complicated nature of adoption, ultimately offering readers a book that’s sure to make them laugh, cry, and hug when it’s over. Mika in Real Life is a moving blend of humor and heart.” — Bust Magazine
“The story captures disappointments, forgiveness and unconditional connection, all complicated by differences in culture and race. Jean's persuasive characters excel in vivacious banter and vulnerable reveals, populating a rewarding narrative about crucial learning and absolute loving.” — Shelf Awareness
"Tender and profound, Emiko Jean's writing had me laughing, crying, and cheering for Mika in Real Life." — Lauren Kate, #1 New York Times bestselling author By Any Other Name
"Touching and heartfelt, Jean captures the essence of mothers and daughters, the nuances that make a family, and where we've come from and where we're going. Sharp and brimming with heart, this tender read will have you alternating between laughter and tears (the very best kind) and missing the characters long after the last page. Mika In Real Life is a sheer delight to read. " — Rochelle Weinstein, bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends
“Mika’s story is a beautiful exploration of the bond between mother and child... As Mika rescues herself from a downward spiral of heartbreak and loss, she weaves for us a primer on healing our broken relationships. A must read for anyone who’s ever had a mother or been one.” — Annabel Monaghan, author of Nora Goes Off Script
"Mika In Real Life is a poignant and compelling exploration of identity, love, and what it means to be a mother. Mika and Penny swept me along on their emotional and unforgettable journey... By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, this is a total joy of a read." — Holly Miller, author of The Sight of You
"A wonderful, life-affirming story about second chances, parenthood and love. By turns tender, funny, and deeply romantic, I was rooting for Mika, Penny and Thomas." — Lauren Ho, author of Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic and Last Tang Standing
“Definitely ‘best books of 2022’ material.” — Glamour
“A beautiful tale of love, trust and forgiveness." — Good Housekeeping
“Mika in Real Life has heart, and it touched mine.”
— Associated Press
“Jean gives us authentic characters, a lot of laughs, and a chance to see our own relationships—with our mothers, our children, and ourselves—in a new and refreshing light.” — Amazon Book Review
"...a heartfelt story about the bonds between mothers and daughters." — BookBub
“This is a perfect summer read that will leave you wishing you could stay in Mika’s world forever.” — Soapberry
“Mika didn’t just bust the model minority myth, she ran it over with a Mack truck.” — The Daily Waffle
“Mika in Real Life is the kind of book that will surely get you back into reading.” — Shondaland