Tsushima is a wonder. Almost all of her work has the same starting point: a Japanese woman, divorced or separated from her husband, left pregnant or as a single mother to one or more young children, remote from her own parents. Yet from this she spins what seems like an infinite variety of stories and novels, beautifully written (Harcourt was her usual English-language translator and champion) and full of subtle complexity. In this particular piece, a mother takes her two children to the beach, and things go awry at an amusement stall, but I almost chose it at random: all her work is wonderful.
First published in English in The Shooting Gallery and Other Stories by The Women’s Press, 1984. New edition from New Directions, 1987. You can read the story on the New Directions website here
A Personal Anthology 