“Quando aprii gli occhi, vidi la sagoma di un uomo tra le tende spesse che filtravano i raggi del sole e sobbalzai per lo spavento. Tra i pochi ricordi che avevo di lui, mi sembrava di averlo sempre visto in quella posizione, intento a guardare fuori dalla finestra. Mi piaceva da morire osservarlo così. Forse quella posizione non era del tutto estranea al mio essermi innamorata di lui in modo così appassionato.” Due sconosciuti, due paia di scarpe identiche, un viaggio e un grande, imprevisto, amore. Tratto da “La piccola ombra”, pubblicato da Feltrinelli. Numero di caratteri: 33.426
Author
Banana Yoshimoto (よしもと ばなな or 吉本 ばなな) is the pen name of Mahoko Yoshimoto (吉本 真秀子), a Japanese contemporary writer. She writes her name in hiragana. (See also 吉本芭娜娜 (Chinese).) Along with having a famous father, poet Takaaki Yoshimoto, Banana's sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan. Growing up in a liberal family, she learned the value of independence from a young age. She graduated from Nihon University's Art College, majoring in Literature. During that time, she took the pseudonym "Banana" after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous." Despite her success, Yoshimoto remains a down-to-earth and obscure figure. Whenever she appears in public she eschews make-up and dresses simply. She keeps her personal life guarded, and reveals little about her certified Rolfing practitioner, Hiroyoshi Tahata and son (born in 2003). Instead, she talks about her writing. Each day she takes half an hour to write at her computer, and she says, "I tend to feel guilty because I write these stories almost for fun."
