Clarissa, thank you so much for agreeing to chat with us about your books! Rainbirds was your first novel, published in 2018, and The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida came out in March. Because of COVID-related delays I received both of these books on a Friday a few weeks after the release—and then read Rainbirds on Saturday and The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida on Sunday. I just couldn’t resist them. Your prose is so effortless, and your stories have such emotional complexity and depth that I couldn’t stop turning pages until well after my bedtime each night.
Miwako Sumida, along with several other characters, were originally characters in Rainbirds. Did you know you would write a separate story about her when she appeared in Ren’s narrative, or did she surprise you?
There was so much more I wanted to tell about the side characters in Rainbirds, but the story has no space for them. Because of that, I decided to take these characters out, and give them the center stage in other books.
I forgot where I heard this, but I remember there was a saying that all side characters are the main characters in their own books.
Do you intend to keep writing about characters in this widening circle of friends and lovers, or about Akakawa or Kitsuyama?
Yes! So do keep a lookout for the side characters, because they might be the main characters in the next book.
There is a strong contrast between Tokyo and the rural towns in which the characters find themselves, and terrible things happen in those small towns. Yet small towns are where Ren, Ryu, and Chie find a measure of peace. What is it, do you think, about distant places that make terrible and hopeful things seem so much more possible?
Oh wow, I didn’t notice this until you brought it up! Perhaps I unconsciously write that way because I migrated to another country? I was born and raised in Indonesia and moved to Singapore when I was sixteen. There is something about a new place that seems to bring in a vast array of new challenges and possibilities.
Where do stories begin for you—with a place, a scene, a person, a feeling?
It depends. For instance, I once wrote multiple stories because I thought of a title I liked and wouldn’t give it up (‘My Wife Lives in a Television’). Another time, I wrote Xingshi, a fictionalized story based on my grandfather’s experience as a Chinese immigrant in Indonesia, because I got tired of explaining why my name doesn’t sound Chinese.
More often than not, the story starts with a random thought. For both Rainbirds and The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, I was fascinated with the idea that often, we think that we know a person well, but actually, we don’t.
Brother-sister relationships are very profound in both of your books, especially in the absence of strong parental figures. Is there any reason you focus on siblings?
I can’t think of any. But I recall, when I was a kid, I used to tell my mom I wished I had an older sister, even though I was the oldest. People are often surprised when I tell them I am the first child because I can be very childish. I definitely can’t hold a candle to Fumi-nee and Keiko. (But hey, I’m recently into cooking Japanese food thanks to COVID-19!)
Both stories begin after a death, but your books say strongly that reconciliation and understanding are still possible when a person has gone. Can you say more?
Even though I don’t believe that all questions have to be answered nor that everything has to have a happy ending, I think it’s important to maintain a sense of hope.
Secrets are really destructive in your books. Yet when Miwako tells her secret, she blames herself for the unintended consequences. Do you see a way out of this double bind that many of your characters—especially your female characters—face?
As an outsider (I tend to see my characters as separate entities), it’s too easy for me to point out that this is victim-blaming. Yet, if I put myself in her situation, I doubt it would be so clear-cut.
Chie, Miwako, and Fumi each captured my heart in different ways. Are there any of your characters you feel especially close to, or who particularly resemble you?
It’s very hard to pick just one character. After spending five years together, I feel a strong bond with all of them.
Parts of your books bear resemblance to Haruki Murakami’s novels. Has he been a literary influence for you? What authors or books are close to your heart?
He’s one of the writers whose works I’ve enjoyed. I do agree with you that there are similarities—for instance in terms of genre and setting—so readers who love Murakami’s works will hopefully enjoy Rainbirdsand The Perfect World of Miwako Sumidatoo. That being said, if someone is expecting another Murakami book, they might end up being disappointed.
There are a lot of great Japanese authors I admire. Apart from Haruki Murakami, some of my favorites are Yasunari Kawabata, Banana Yoshimoto, Keigo Higashino, Hiromi Kawakami, Fuminori Nakamura, Yoko Ogawa, and Sayaka Murata.
In the end note for Rainbirds, you mention that a friend once gave you a book that rekindled your joy of reading. What was that book?
It was Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood🙂
