A Hundred Years And A Day muses about the impact of time

Time is the invisible yet omnipotent protagonist in A Hundred Years And A Day, a collection of 34 allegorical vignettes by Japanese author Tomoka Shibasaki.

- Walter Sim

A HUNDRED YEARS AND A DAY By Tomoka Shibasaki, translated by Polly Barton Fiction/Stone Bridge Press/ Paperback/207 pages/$31.60

It is the constant through the 34 stories that flow across decades and generations, with time leaving its indelible mark on memories, buildings, things, relationships, communities and places.

Shibasaki, 51, is almost dispassionate in her writing, passing no judgment on fraying relationships, dying communities or lost heritage.

She keeps her stories grounded in reality, without veering into whimsical fantasy like many of her contemporary female Japanese author peers.

Yet, the measured stories pack a punch, like crisp and unembellished news reports.

Shibasaki may be familiar to readers of Japanese literature for having won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 2014 for Spring Garden (translated into English in 2017), about a lonesome divorcee who lives alone in a flat that is soon to be torn down.