Watersong by Clarissa Goenawan

Photo is my own please do not copy/take without permission first.

First of all I would like to thank the lovely folks over at Scribe for being so kind and sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Watersong by Clarissa Goenawan centres on (official blurb): “When Shouji Arai crosses one of his company’s most powerful clients, he must leave Akakawa immediately or risk his life. But his girlfriend Youko is nowhere to be found. Haunted by dreams of drowning and the words of a fortune teller who warned him away from three women with water in their names, he travels to Tokyo, where he tries in vain to track Youko down. But Shouji soon realises that not everything Youko told him about herself was true. Who is the real woman he once lived with and loved, and where could she be hiding? Watersong is a spellbinding novel of loves lost and recovered, of secrets never spoken, and of how our pasts shape our futures.”

What can I say… Other than Clarissa has gone and done it once again!!! She is most definitely an all time favourite author of mine and I cannot wait for more books by her in the future!

Watersong is a beautifully complex, lyrical, haunting and tragic story that is so atmospheric to read. I love how Watersong is a story that is part literary, part mystery with the most perfect hint of magical realism.

Everybody has a part of themselves they never want anyone to know. Not even the people closest to them.

One of my favourite elements of this story has been the journey I took as the reader alongside the main character, Shouji. The fact that he travelled from city to city throughout Japan it really felt like you were right there with him taking in all the sites and sounds as well.

Never underestimate women. We’re full of secrets.

This might be a very controversial statement to make however, I absolutely loved the fact that Watersong had an open ending. It really made me feel even more part of Shouji’s story/journey and how in real life some stories leave you with many questions that don’t always have answers!