A Real Novel by Minae Mizumura, its serialization just completed in the literary journal Shincho, is a perfect classic from its very inception. Spellbinding and nostalgic, the novel resonates with orchestral majesty, even to its smallest details. A real novel is born true to the legacy of modern literature. . . . The story is simply fascinating, no reservations, no conditions attached. . . . Describing with great veracity the rapidly changing Japanese society over the course of half a century, A Real Novel has the power to surpass many of the original works of great literature on which it is based. . . . Vividly portrayed in the novel is how a nation's history puts its people at its mercy. Yet what actually comes forth even more than the force of history is the snowfall of months and years that befall equally on each of us, the private moments of time that eventually disperse and disappear as time flows past us.

--- Mariko Ozaki (literary critic), Yomiuri Shinbun (the newspaper with the largest circulation in Japan), December 25, 2001, p.13.

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What is a real novel? It is difficult to come up with a good definition, but whatever it is, if what is presented as such did not give readers the impression that it is indeed a real novel, it would be quite an embarrassment for the author. I must say I was rather apprehensive before reading it, though it was not my problem. Yet when I got through with the book, I was quite impressed. It truly is a real novel. Put simply, the novel is the contemporary Japanese version of Wuthering Heights, and it is amazingly well executed. . . . What it evokes is not only Wuthering Heights, but also other works of literature like The Great Gatsby. It is filled with allusions to the classics of literature, both from the east and the west . . . and her writing style that calls them to mind is just astounding.

--- Masashi Miura (critic), Yomiuri Shinbun, October 22, 2002, p.15.

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This book is truly fascinating to read. I even remained awake the entire evening, . . . drawn to the complex web of human dramas described in the novel. I could not but be amazed by how brilliantly the author invokes the subtle interactions among the characters . . . . Mizumura's skill as a novelist is impressive, endowing mysterious atmosphere to the Karuizawa mansions and heightening the readers' imaginations . . . .

--- Masayuki Yamauchi (professor, University of Tokyo), Mainichi Shinbun (a major newspaper), October 27, 2002, p.10.

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What we have here is a novel that is dream-like yet real, depicting a world that is too good to be true, yet truthful. After reading this long book, full of precise tableaux of Japanese people and landscapes, one is struck with a deep sense of grief toward Japan which have neglected its own history. There is no other way to describe the publication of A Real Novel except to say, it marks a decisive moment in the history of Japanese literature.

--- Natsuo Sekigawa (critic and novelist), Asahi Shimbun (the most respected newspaper in Japan), October 30, 2002, p.7.

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The book was so exciting that I couldn't wait to turn the pages; I read it almost at one sitting. . . . A Real Novel comes alive by its intricate structure and thereby stands out among hundreds of other typically boring contemporary novels.

--- Toshiko Hirata (poet), Yomiuri Shinbun, November 3, 2002, p.12.

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Portrayed in the novel is romantic love that is painfully passionate and miraculously pure. We regain in reading this novel what we have almost forgotten: the excitement, sorrow, and the heartache we once felt reading love stories. . . . Man and woman from "different backgrounds" fall into forbidden love. The earnestness and seriousness of the two lovers create a magnificent realm all their own. . . . Moreover, this novel portrays with a remarkable accuracy what lies behind their romantic love --- post war Japan's social transformation from poverty to prosperity. . . . It succeeds in becoming a nostalgic family saga . . . by describing not only the lives of the two protagonists but also of those around them --- especially the lives of the pre-war middle class, which have now disappeared. . . . A sense of wonder struck me as I finished reading the novel.

--- Saburo Kawamoto (critic), Shukan Asahi (a major weekly newsmagazine published by Asahi Shimbun), November 29, 2002, p. 125.

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How great it was to read A Real Novel! Whatever Mizumura writes, whether novels or essays, you always feel her honest love of and simple passion for literature. Her writing always strikes me with power that only truth can deliver. Honesty, love, passion, truth --- I look for other words, but to no avail. She is a writer in whom those almost forgotten words still breathe life. She writes sparingly yet she is a novelist in the center court of literature. . . . How many times did I get into fights with my family and deprive myself of sleep for the sake of this book? I even cried out loud at several places. The book portrays with radical force not merely the sadness of love but, more importantly, the very sadness of human existence. And what great density of time is packed into the work . . . . This book allows the reader to feel with an almost physical poignancy how fate of private individuals are engulfed into the current of history.

--- Masayo Koike (poet), Tosho Shinbun (a weekly book review), November 30, 2002.

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A Real Novel by Minae Mizumura is not only the best novel of 2002, it is the most recommended companion for your year's end and new year's. Its narrative structure is elaborate but the novel is easy to read and enthralling. Both worldly and Parnassian at the same time, it is endowed with the power to satiate a sophisticated reader. The dialogues are effervescent and entertaining, and all of our five senses are fully engaged in reading this richly rendered chronicle, full of reminiscence and remorse.

--- Kazuya Fukuda, Shukan Shincho (a major weekly newsmagazine), December 12, 2002, p.126.

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I just finished reading Minae Mizumura's A Real Novel, and I can't get it out of my mind. Who would have ever thought that Heathcliff and Catherine would be re-incarnated in contemporary Japan and would come down the escalator at a new theatre complex in Tokyo, so affectionate with each another? And how audacious of the author to begin the story with what was missing in the original, that is, the success story of Heathcliff, or rather, Taro Azuma? What is most stunning in this novel, along with the dazzling skill of its narration, is the author's critical will against the current state of affairs and her desire to resist Japan's turn toward frivolity and vapidity. This novel is wildly exhilarating.

--- Kan Nozaki (professor, University of Tokyo), Ronza (a monthly journal of criticism published by Asahi Shimbun), January, 2003, p.314.

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Kawamoto: This was a productive year with a number of long novels; I thought the best one was ,A Real Novel by Minae Mizumura. There were other well written novels, but A Real Novel was the most rewarding to read. Each and every character in it is solidly drawn.

Miura: Mizumura not only demonstrated how she was unafraid to confront Wuthering Heights face to face, but also to remake it entirely anew and remake it entirely her own. . . . If you study the details, she has also subtly made use of Cherry Orchard, The Great Gatsby and the like, yet she doesn't make you notice it. Anyway, the plot is so fascinating that you are done reading before you know it.

Kawamoto: You sense in A Real Novel not only the general gaiety typical of the high economic growth period . . . . but also the lingering effects of war. Taro Azuma is a repatriated child from China. There has never been a novel that looks from a child's point of view the trauma left by war and poverty. The way A Real Novel depicts the trauma was most moving.

--- Saburo Kawamoto and Masashi Miura (critics) in a recorded dialogue, Bugakkai (a monthly journal of literature and criticism), January, 2003, p.128-150.