In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Mieko Kawakami’s 2026 novel Sisters in Yellow. Topics include Mieko’s aesthetic, problems and difficulties with Japanese to English translation, immersion in time and place and expanding our conception of Japan, Hana’s (and other’s) dependence upon and obsession with money, the enigma of Kimiko, and the importance of yellow. 

This week’s drink: Lemon Water

INGREDIENTS 

• Water (still or sparkling)
• Ice
• Lemon

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour water into a tall glass with ice
2. Cut lemon to slices or wedges and add to glass

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Interview with Mieko Kawakami and her translators

Linea Nigra: An Essay on Pregnancy & Earthquakes by Jazmina Barrera

On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

You can email us at [email protected].

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library. 

Join us next time as we read Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez