Akemi is from a poor family in a small Japanese village. She travels to Tokyo to study art, specifically medical illustration. At her boarding house, she meets Sayako, another student, but from a wealthy family. They become close and eventually problems arise.

The Art of Vanishing, by Lynne Kutsukake, transported me across time, space, and culture. Set in the 1970s (odd to call it a historical novel when it describes events within my lifetime), it has a peculiar quality of feeling true to its time — that is, I felt like I was discovering a decades-old novel inspired by real-life events, not reading recent release fiction.

"My parents didn't know anything about university. My father hadn't even gone to high school — he'd had to start working right after his father died of a heart attack. More and more young people were going to college, though, and my mother wanted for me what other parents did for their children. Yet because it was a foreign world — a world she and my father were afraid of — they could offer no advice or direct encouragement. As a result, they could only give me mixed messages that reflected the confusion and insecurity they themselves felt. It's good to go to university, but university is only for rich people; you deserve the same opportunities as everyone else, but home is best and there are lots of jobs you could do with a high school diploma; and so on, back a forth."

I didn't know what I wanted, either. I was a mediocre student, the kind who was too conscientious not to do my homework but not smart enough to get good marks despite my efforts. I never failed but I never excelled.

Akemi leaves home to study medical illustration in Tokyo. At the girls' boarding house where her lodging was arranged, she quickly becomes enamored of its most elusive (and somewhat disreputable) resident, Sayoko, an art student from a wealthy family.

Akemi struggles to assert her independence from her family, to see some of the world beyond her small village and study with the aim of establishing a career. Sayoko on the other hand is used to having her wishes granted, sees no need for school, and aspires to a wholly bohemian lifestyle.

We witness Sayoko bossing Akemi around and taking her friendship for granted, but Akemi is too fascinated to be able to extricate herself.

Things turn strange when Sayoko meets an older couple. They are "artists" who stage happenings; they stay in Sayoko's apartment, and for a while it seems their lives are an endless orgy of alcohol and cigarettes, possibly sex, and just a soupçon of art. And then they're gone.

When Sayoko resurfaces and invites Akemi to one of their happenings in the wilderness, we see that the couple's charisma has cult-like proportions and things may not end well.

This novel is essentially Akemi's coming-of-age story, focusing on the nature of the girls' friendship, and its transience. But with a firm grounding in 1970s Japanese counterculture, it also explores the nature of art (and its transience) and what it is to live an artist lifestyle.

I've got to be honest; initially, I didn't connect well with the story. While I enjoyed the narrative style, it was difficult for me to get immersed at the beginning of the book. But little by little, this was changing. By the end of the book, I was very much invested in this novel about friendship, love, betrayal, and relationships in general.

The setting (Japan during the 1970s) was captivating. I appreciated the cultural insights, as always. The character development, self-reflection, and the mystery surrounding Sayako's disappearance kept me engaged until the end.

The story touches on some heavy topics. The author handles these with compassion and care, but please, be mindful of your mental health and check for trigger warnings.

In The Art of Vanishing, Lynne Kutsukake transports readers to 1970s Japan, where Akemi, a talented medical illustrator, leaves her small village for Tokyo. She finds solace in her work despite being ignored by her privileged roommates, until she befriends Sayako, a rebellious painter. Their bond deepens as they attend avant-garde 'happenings' meant to free them from societal constraints. When Sayako mysteriously disappears after a betrayal, Akemi's search for her forces a profound self-discovery.

I really enjoyed the unique setting of Japan in the 1970s. Kutsukake weaves a fantastic story of female friendship, authenticity, and love. Akemi’s compelling character development and the intriguing mystery of Sayako's disappearance keep readers engaged. This is a must-read book this year!

Delighted to include this title in the June edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

This was such an interesting book! It started off almost feeling a bit detached, but that kind of floated into being completely immersive for me. It touched on some heavier topics than I had expected - TW for sexual assault, cults and suicide - but they were all handled quite gracefully.

This book felt quite quiet, but impactful. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!