Suggested in the Stars

Tawada continues the globe-trotting, yarn-spinning, and wordplay of Scattered All Over the Earth in her inventive latest, the second in a proposed trilogy set in the near future. Hiruko, the curious wanderer introduced in Scattered, is back, along with the friends she’s made on her travels, including the rugged Nanook, an Eskimo from Greenland and former sushi chef; the Danish linguist Knut; and Knut’s contemplative mother, Inga, who sponsored Nanook’s education in Copenhagen. Ever since Hiruko’s homeland of Japan, now known as the Land of Sushi, disappeared under the rising sea, she’s been traveling, hoping to find someone who speaks her language. Instead, she and her companions share new phrases with those they encounter. In Germany, Hiruko and Knut meet Akash, an Indian traveler in the midst of gender transition, who coins the phrase “packed-train-yoga” (“a way to kill time when you can’t get a seat on the train”; “remember to restrain all movements that can be seen from the outside”). Meanwhile, back in Denmark, Inga worries about Knut and recalls how when she gave birth to him, she felt “swaddled in orange air tinged with pink.” At the heart of the episodic narrative is a meditation on the nature of identity, as Nanook marvels at being mistaken for Korean as a student abroad. Tawada finds a subtly different voice for each character, adding to the linguistic stew, which simmers into a captivating Decameron-like tale. This is sublime. (Oct.)