The Woman in The Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura

 

Publisher: Penguin Books

Publication date: June 8th 2021

Pages: 224

Every day at the same time, the woman in the purple skirt, goes to the park, sits on her Exclusively Reserved Seat, and eats a cream bun out of a white paper bag, while the children in the park make fun of her.The narrator of the book, the woman in the yellow cardigan, observes her, as she is curious who she is, and why she is doing what she is doing. The woman in the purple skirt lives in a run down apartment, looks like a schoolgirl while she is older, and is single. The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan lures her to a job, after she tried to make friends with her, where she herself works, as a hotel housekeeper, where she learns more about her background and life, which results in some crazy moments in both their professional lives. soon the Woman in the Purple Skirt is having an affair with the boss. Unfortunately, no one knows or cares about the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. That's the difference between her and the Woman in the Purple Skirt.

I am still not sure what to think about this book, it's story and what it was telling its reader. It was nice and strange at the same time. The woman in the yellow cardigan was clearly obsessed and stalking the woman in the purple skirt. You can ask yourself why.   (we also don't get to know who the yellow cardigan lady is and what her name is). Nothing really spectacular happened and I expected quite some interesting thinks about Miss purple skirt,  there was nothing really spectacular revealed about her, and during the book I kept wondering who really was the strange outcast, the purple skirt or the yellow cardigan woman or both?

It is just a bit of a strangely weird stort, that also explores the dark side of loneliness leading on to obsession and the depths one can go to, owing to the desperate need for friendship and a companion. But it just missed something.