A bewitching novel set in contemporary Japan about the mysterious suicide of a young woman.

Miwako Sumida is dead.

Now those closest to her try to piece together the fragments of her life. Ryusei, who always loved Miwako, follows her trail to a remote Japanese village. Chie, her best friend, was the only person to know her true identity — but is now the time to reveal it? Meanwhile, Fumi, Ryusei’s sister, has her own haunting secret.

Together, they realise that the young woman they thought they knew had more going on than they could ever have dreamed.

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‘The gap between the private pain we suffer and the public image we project is explored with sensitivity and tenderness.’

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‘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.’

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‘Clarissa Goenawan’s style is effortless and emotionally charged, and it’s particularly heartening to see a trans character depicted in a lead role, written in a real and sympathetic way.’

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‘Dazzling.’

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‘She has created a Murakami-inspired novel that does away with all of his problems and tells a story far more rounded, pleasing, and sophisticated.’

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‘Miwako is a powerful, memorable character … The way these characters’ lives intersect makes for a complex and satisfying tale, one that’s sad at the same time as it’s lively and warm.’

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‘Goenawan, like any skilled novelist, manages to elegantly reveal both the pain and beauty of unraveling a life after loss. This is only her second novel to date, and she’s already been compared to the wizard of world-building, Haruki Murakami.’

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‘[Goenawan] raises an age-old question on the fine line where literature ends and life begins ... [she] has her own distinctive voice, as she sensitively explores traumatic sexual experiences through a woman’s perspective.’

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‘A compelling protagonist ... Like Japanese brush painting, the author’s simple, clear prose captures Miwako’s vulnerability and complexity. Also vividly drawn are Fumi and Chie, each having built their own unusual protective personas that are gradually revealed. An eerie and elegant puzzle.’

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‘Like Goenawan’s previous Rainbirds, this is more literary fiction than conventional mystery, featuring exceptionally well-drawn characters facing adversity in a narrative written with an elegance and delicacy.’

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‘Goenawan does an expert job of getting to the core of this university student with a mysterious past, and on how people grapple with the death by suicide of a loved one.’

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‘This haunting tale of grief and tragedy by the author of Rainbirds might appeal to new adults who remember John Green’s Looking for Alaska. The leisurely narrative uncovers a world of Japanese customs, ghosts, and grief.’

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‘[A] a complex, interpersonal mystery … [A] tremendous examination of sadness … [A] book with heart about the mysteries of the heart.’

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‘Goenawan’s prose is transportive in its directness and evocative in its simplicity. In Miwako, she has succeeded in an intricate character study of a perturbed soul … An immersive, haunting tale.’

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‘If her debut novel brings Murakami to mind, her second, with its winsome tone, harkens to early Banana Yoshimoto. However, with her blend of mystery, magic and social issues — in this case, sexual abuse, transgender awareness and suicide — Goenawan is developing her own distinct brand.’

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‘A quietly powerful meditation on the destructive power of secrets, as well as the power of truth to heal even beyond death.’

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‘[A] subtly fantastical story, driven by themes of love, loss, and grief. It toes the line between YA and literary fiction, and it does so effortlessly … [A] three-dimensional story that moves seamlessly from the distant past to the recent past to the present, painting a colourful image of Miwako Sumida that grows in detail as the story gains momentum. Despite not having been written by a Japanese novelist, The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida strongly and elegantly echoes the style and tone of manga like Erased and Orange, and most vividly the novels of Haruki Murakami … There are mysteries that tease at you and lies you’ll be told, all in service of a complex, intense story that ebbs and flows so beautifully. It’s a wild ride, and a delightfully satisfying one.’

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‘This novel is both familiar and unusual. It is written in English by an Indonesian-born Singaporean author, but summons the atmospheres of Japanese fictions (both written and cinematic) … Clarissa Goenawan is an emerging talent … Compassionate and compelling.’

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‘Powerful and compelling.’

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‘Very absorbing and incredibly well written … Highly recommended and I’ll be looking out for more from this author.’

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‘A novel that examines a tragedy from three sides … Ultimately very readable and enjoyable.’

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‘What a beautiful, heartbreaking book … the language is reminiscent of Japanese books The Travelling Cat Chronicles (Hiro Arikawa) and If Cats Disappeared from the World (Genki Kawamura). In these stories, as in Goenawan’s, beautiful language and scenes are used as backdrops for a gentle uncovering of what it really means to be human.’

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‘This is a bittersweet tale of abuse and identity, of the potentially destructive nature of secrets and of the value of having people around who can understand and help process painful or traumatic events.’

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‘This is a deep-cut examination of what happens to a life left behind.’

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‘This is Murakami without the male gaze – a feminist Murakami, perhaps … An engrossing tale clearly influenced by Japanese women writers such as Risa Wataya and Banana Yoshimoto, The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is about the crushing weight of secrets and how the long arm of history returns to haunt a person. In this novel, young women straitjacketed by the standards of mainstream society demand: give us a closer look.’

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‘Quietly quirky in the manner of Haruki Murakami, including shades of magic realism, The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida focuses on the subtle intricacies of social interactions and sexuality, particularly in Japanese culture at the time … This is a lingering fable about learning to accept yourself, even in the wake of grief.’

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‘The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is a vibrant and at time surreal exploration of lost love, death, trauma, and friendship in Japan in the 1980s/90s … This novel is beautifully created and provides a mature look into suicide and its impacts on those left behind.’ FOUR STARS

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‘Captivating and sometimes heartbreaking … The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida is hard to put down and despite its tragedy is a thoroughly enjoyable read.’

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‘A novel that lingers in the mind thanks to its poetic delivery, layering of ideas and an engrossing tale, all led by vivid characters.’

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