A missing child, a broken marriage, and the unraveling of a carefully constructed life.
Welcome to your February read, The Tokyo Suite by Giovana Madalosso, translated by Bruna Dantas Lobato.
In a house where luxury and neglect coexist, Fernanda, a successful but troubled executive, redecorates a room in the style of a Tokyo hotel suite, hoping to tempt her maid, Maju, into staying longer. But one morning, Maju disappears, slipping out of the house with Fernanda’s daughter, Cora, in tow.
Consumed by the turmoil of her own life, Fernanda does not immediately realize the depth of her loss. But as she is jolted back into a reality she cannot ignore, she is forced to confront the fragility of her world. Meanwhile, Maju’s flight takes her across Brazil’s vast, unforgiving landscape, as she stops in dilapidated motels and forgotten places, pushing forward with a plan that soon spins out of control.
Madalosso’s novel weaves a taut and evocative narrative about the search for something – affection, redemption, escape – against the backdrop of a fractured society. Cora’s disappearance forces the past to collide with the present, stoking old wounds, igniting desires, and exposing the deep divides of class and expectation. In a race to reclaim control, the characters grapple with their fractured desires, their unspoken resentments, and the weight of their choices.
Cat and Tim