A story about three women, which at first seem to be unconnected, but as the three stories go on and unfold, we get to see that they are not stand alone stories.

Beautiful written and created charakters, I didn't want to stop reading about them and the path they are going what struggles they have to face and how they experienced life. The stories go from learning to accept their heritage to pursuing their dreams to discovering long hidden secrets. All three narratives are well interwoven and build. Hanako Footman created a masterpiece more people should read.

To be honest I found it hard to engage in the first 15%, but surprisingly it turned out to be a 5 star for me! I couldn't put it down. What an incredible debut that really deserves attention.

It follows 3 women's lives, looks like all separate stories, but then it amazes me when these stories unfold and reveals the wider picture, how their lives were intertwined and how it shaped their identity. It is a lovely but sad story that explores motherhood, sexuality, isolation, love, finding oneself. The ending part had me tear up as you can really root for the characters. It has a ts daylight moment right there as well. The writing is so elegant that it made me enjoyed the journey. Would recommend!

Thank you netgalley for the advance e-copy.

This is a book that skilfully grabbed me and slowly dragged me into an emotional tale of three women, Mei, Yuki and Haruka, and told in their three voices. Three women whose stories intertwine as they each suffer at the hands of men, men who they should be able to trust. The writing is beautiful and so full of emotion you can’t help but be affected by it.

Briefly, 13 year old Mei lost her Japanese mother at 6 years old, she lives with her English father in Surrey, she wants to fit in but is withdrawn and teased about her heritage. Aged 18 Yuki has been brought up in the countryside but a talented violinist she leaves Japan for London in search of her dreams. Haruka also lost her mother and after a row with her grandparents she moved from their farm to Tokyo working as a hostess in sleazy nightclubs.

I loved the insights into Japan, I have been to Tokyo and I find the culture, the food, the county quite fascinating. The women are all very well written characters and the storyline wonderful and the threads masterfully woven together. This is a fabulous piece of literary fiction, very enjoyable read.

The book tells the story of three women, who appear to be unconnected. Yuki is a talented violinist who arrives from Japan in London at 18, only to fall in love with her music teacher. Mei is a young woman growing up in London, struggling with belonging and self realisation. Haruka is a young woman living in Tokyo, and working as a hostess, earning money by sleeping with men. As the story progresses we understand more about the emotional turmoil at the core of our protagonists' angst, discover what it means to not fit in and how that can eventually erode any semblance of self respect and confidence, and explore how the different storylines come together.

The book is extremely well written. The author's prose is approachable but also tender and elegant. The brush strokes are gentle, but the emotions they elicit are visceral and volcanic. This dissonance, between the gentle writing and the underlying energy of the book, is perhaps its most remarkable quality.

The protagonists are tangible and vivid. Their fears, hopes, and dreams feel real. The depth of their emotional world comes across as holistic and consistent, which is no small feat. It is difficult not to open one's heart to these women, and suffer as they suffer, and love when they love.

The story itself also raises important issues: how racism can affect one's self esteem and self worth, how objectification and fetishisation of women (especially Asian ones) affects their sense of self, the predatory nature of some men (and how hard it is for women to resist), the difficulty in communicating with the people you truly love, and the role of family. These issues are dealt with subtly and tenderly, without preaching or politicising. It's thoughtprovoking and makes you wonder about some things you might not have wondered about.

I recommend this to anyone who ever felt alone, or struggled to understand why and how some people just get lost within themselves. It's a beautiful debut, and I can't wait to read more of the author's work.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

"Someone she did not need to explain anything to, not because words were impossible, but because they were unnecessary."
A beautifully written story, illustrating how language and culture influence our choices and belief in self-worth.
I liked the short story 'The Princess & the Pomegranate'; it is an example of how to this day the power dynamic between men and women continues to exist and is used as leverage.
Hearing, Hanoka speak about her inspiration and love for her mama (during a book event in London, February 2024) made this a more meaningful read! ❤️
Thanks, NetGalley for an advance copy.

Mongrel is poetic in its literary style, lyrical and flowing. It’s so beautifully and sensitively written – it’s hard to believe it’s a debut novel.

I ‘enjoyed’ (totally the wrong word) Haruko’s story the most. I found her easier to empathise with. Yuki’s is so painful, at times I had to stop reading. And Mei is too far out of my comfort zone, though later on in the book it was easier.

The book starts with Yuki and Mei, and for a while we move back and forth between the two. They are not yet connected. Yuki has left Japan at age eighteen, to travel to England where she will ‘pursue her dream of becoming a concert violinist’. Her talent is amazing and soon attracts the attention of her much older tutor. No-one seems to care though, which I found quite strange. He probably should have been sacked.

Mei lost her mum who died when she was six and she lives with her father in Surrey. She has a beautiful voice and wants to be a singer. However, we hear more about her relationship with her best friend Fran than her potential career, though we never really discover whether it’s reciprocated in the way she would like. There’s a lot of drinking, drug taking, partying and holidays with Fran’s family. As I said, I was totally out of my comfort zone.

It’s quite some time before we ‘meet’ Hukara. She too lost her mum when she was sixteen, and lives with her Baba and Jiji (grandparents) in a somewhat ramshackle farm where Jiji tends the rice fields. Until she died, Hakura’s mum worked all hours and was rarely at home. Then one day, Hakura has a terrible fight with Jiji and runs away to Tokyo where she works in the sex industry. She tries to justify her choices, but we can see it makes her sad.

During the second half of the book the strands begin to come together and we start to see how everyone is connected. There are tiny hints throughout the book, but it is complicated. Better to just go with the flow. There is so much emotion, sadness, secrets and regret, and the whole story becomes more and more gripping. But it’s Yuki that pains me the most. She is a character that will live with me for a long time.

I must also say at this point that we learn a lot about Japan, the culture, the food, the language and the people. It’s a fascinating insight as well as a riveting storyline.

certainly a promising story that is sadly told in a rather structured, slightly generic (prose wise at least) way.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC of Mongrel by Hanako Footman, out on 22nd February! This book was one of my January highlights, a gorgeous and heartbreaking exploration of identity, sexuality, race, sisterhood and motherhood.
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Footman gives us three narratives: Meiko is a British-Japanese girl mourning her mother, navigating her sexuality and falling hopelessly in love with her best friend. Yuki is a young Japanese woman who travels to England to attend music school, who then begins an affair with her teacher. Haruka is a Japanese woman working as a hostess while working through the tangled web of family secrets left behind after her mother passes. If I had one complaint with the book, it’s that Haruka’s storyline is brought in a bit late, I wish we had an equal amount of all three women/girls!
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All three narratives are compelling and well fleshed out, but Mei’s was my favourite. Footman perfectly captures the intensity of the relationships between teenage girls, as well as the general assault course that is teenage-girldom. She depicts how quickly best friendships can sour, subject to the often cruel whims of girls in a hurry to grow up. The competitiveness that can spring up, and of course everything heightened for Meiko who is grappling with feelings for her best friend Fran. It’s through Meiko that Footman also explores the particularly insidious brand of British racism - couched in politeness which does nothing to dull its barbs.
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A lot of difficult subjects, including rape and self-harm, are tackled within Mongrel, but Footman gives all of her characters space to grieve and heal.
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This is such an assured debut, so well plotted and the connections are revealed at a perfect pace. I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

An exquisitely written book with an interlinked narrative that questions identity, connection and belonging.

The writing is controlled, precise and beautiful. Simple descriptions, like someone making a soup, are moving.

It's essentially a coming of age novel. It doesn't become clear that the women are somehow linked until later in the book.

Some difficult topics are covered: rape, self-harm, and the abuse of the three women by men who should have cared for them, and kept consistently letting them down.

The character development is very strong. We share the women's pain, grief and joy. It's a very engrossing read that you won't want to put down.

**Thanks to Netgalley and Footnote Press for a eArc in exchange for a honest review**

tw: death, rapes, sexual assault, cancer, self-harm, homophobia

MONGREL is an impressive debut novel, full of grief and longing. The prose is beautiful, every word is precise and there for a reason. How many times did I have to take a break because the prose was full of raw emotions? It felt like watching a car crash and you can't look away, because like Meiko, Yuki and Haruka, you want to know the truth. I felt so much love for these characters, for everything they went through, this cycle of abuse at the hands of men that were supposed to be there for them: Father, grandfather, friends, lovers....

Meiko is a British-Japanese woman, grieving the death of a mother while feeling like she doesn't belong. I could relate a lot to her, to her insecurities, with her doubts regarding the future but also with the way she fell in love with her best friend, Fran. Then there is Yuki, a Japanese violin who recently moved to London to pursue her career and how her life takes an unexpected turn. I felt so sad for her, for everything she lost and tried to regain. And finally there is Haruka, who also lost her mother and decided to leave for Tokyo where she became a hostess. I was moved by her point of view, it was hard to read her thoughts at first, but then as the story went on, i felt so much sadness and hope for her.

And the way Footman connected their stories is clever. As the reader, you remember details mentioned in the other points of view, and you can start to try piecing the pieces together. At one point I almost gasped because I understood how two characters were connected, all of that because of a hair color mentioned in passing.

in the end, I can tell that MONGREL is one of the best book I've read this year and I can't wait to see what Hanako Footman will write next!

Ome of the most beautiful books I have read in years, I found myself crying on a train reading a description of someone making soup. This book is just full of heartbreaking beauty, both in big ways and in the minute detail of the mundane.

It contains love, loss, pain and beauty, all in equal elements and is a story I woukd implore everyone to read.

For starters, this cover is absolutely gorgeous! And I throughly enjoyed this. The prose was stunning and full of depth. It had great characters building too - I adored Meiko. Highly recommend

#mongrel by #hanakofootman is my first finished read for 2024 and what a way to start the year! Whether you consider it to be a #januaryinjapan book that's up to you, Hanako is British-Japanese and her book is not translated. Japan features centrally in this book and I would struggle to find more beautiful passages and descriptions in any other fiction to date.

OK, I will try to remain spoiler free but beware please. Mongrel starts as a story about three very different women, I was concerned that the first two, moving to or living in the UK would mean it wasn't my usual #japanesefiction. Nevertheless I continued as the characters and the story progressed well. Then came the third character, living in Japan. I could have read whole books on this character, her story and the vivid scenes created by Footman.

Now, again pre-spoiler alert**********
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Maybe I am overtired or not so bright, maybe it's Footman's amazing writing but I didn't connect the three characters until much later on. Mind blown and totally turned this story on its head (in an incredible way). I won't give much away but it all comes together beautiful and every passing page onwards became more rich and noteworthy.

This is Footman's first book but it reads as well if not better than some of the more seasoned #japaneseauthors in my opinion. She is able to create such beautiful interactions between characters and draw on such painful topics with such sensitivity and pose.

If you are looking for a book that will stay with you for life, that ticks the boxes for a translated Japanese fiction type experience AND so much more this is an excellent choice. It touches on a number of trigger points so please be mindful before reading if you need to. But as I mentioned they are handled so well and really bring such maturity to each issue.

Absolutely loved this book and will be ordering it now to keep a hard copy when it comes out on 8th February 2024 in the UK. Thank you @netgalley for the #arc

#honnomushi100 #reading #japanesefiction #japaneseliterature #japaneseauthor

Hanako Footman, a British-Japanese actor and author, draws on her own experiences growing up Hāfu in the UK to write this impactful book about the plight of three women.

Meiko, shortened to 'Mei for British digestion, grows up in an all-white world with the absence of her Japanese mother and English as her mother tongue. Yuki, a talented Japanese violinist, adjusts to her new life in London, and Haruka, a young girl from a farm in Niigata, starts work as a hostess in Tokyo. The narrative slowly paints a picture of their interconnected experience of loss.

There were slight implausibilities, especially in the area of Mei's father's actions; his character could have been more thoroughly explored. And the union of the stories felt a little clunky.

Despite this, I found myself enjoying this book more and more as read on, particularly the themes of sexual coming of age, compromising one's identity, and speaking without language. Overall, a fantastic debut.

3.5⭐

Gorgeous. I loved this book. The characters felt real and perfectly encompassed millennial behaviours and thoughts. I'd recommend for fans of Elaine Castillo and Caroline O'Donoghue.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is the story of three women and their coming of age. Packed with beautiful imagery and vocabulary this is a novel that you can get lost in. There are however some very difficult episodes, notable rape and self harm however these only add to the story and the connection between the three main characters.

This was heavy with a lot of melancholy weaved throughout the entire story. The prose is so exquisite and well written. The lyrical lives of those women were a delight to read and I really loved the differences between all of them.
5 stars.

Published 22 February 2024. It's unbelievable that this is a debut novel. the weaving of the three narratives, the lyricism is astounding. We have three points of view, three narrations. Meiko is a Japanese-English girl who has lost her mother and is struggling with her sexuality. We follow her as she navigates her teenage years. Yuki is a violinist who has left her home to travel to England in the hope of becoming successful. Her older tutor looks after her and provides her with support as well as teaching. Haruka lives in Japan with her grandparents on their farm and she too, has lost her mother and she struggles with her grief. The three girls/women leap of the page, they are all real and so different and the way their stories weave together is masterful. Their lives are sad, there is very little joy and men in the story do not get a good press. In each story, the three women have been kept down by men. You feel so much for them as their sorrows become deeper. This book does not rush you to an ending, you feel your way through the three women's stories. Just a warning that there are scenes of self harm in here. But a wonderful debut novel and I look forward to reading whatever the author does next.

An interesting literary debut by Footman, who most are probably more familiar with her as an actor. As someone who came of age at a similar time to Footman I can definitely see that Footman has drawn on her millennial teenage years and the issues the generation faced, especially the racism encountered to those who like Footman are bi-racial (in the vision of Mei who having lost her mother, struggles with her identity)- the dilemma of feeling like one does not fit in anywhere because you are neither one nor the other. The book splits in 3 parts from the perspective of 3 different women - Mei, Yuki and Haruka - with the ending eventually explaining how t1he 3 women relate to the other. Really impressed and hoping Footman has more tales to write as. I greatly enjoyed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Footnote Press for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It takes its time. There is no rush to a predictable end. Instead there is the beautiful telling of the lives of three woman through their own words and experiences. It’s this which helps the reader to feel emotionally connected to the women throughout every twist and turn. The change back and forth between characters feels very naturally and is much easier to follow than in other books I have read. Perhaps this is due to how interconnected these three characters are.