A mesmerising novel set in Japan, by the author of Rainbirdsand The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, about a young man trying to escape his past. 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? Watersongis a spellbinding novel of loves lost and recovered, of secrets never spoken, and of how our pasts shape our futures.
Clarissa Goenawan Book order
Clarissa Goenawan is an author whose award-winning short fiction has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies. Her writing delves into profound human emotions and the complexities of relationships. Through her distinctive style, she captures subtle nuances and often unexpected turns in human lives. Her work is marked by a keen eye for detail and an insightful exploration of character psychology.




- 2022
- 2020
The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida
- 288 pages
- 11 hours of reading
A bewitching novel set in contemporary Japan about the mysterious suicide of a young woman. Miwako Sumida is dead. Now those closest to her try to piece together the fragments of her life. Ryusei, who has always loved her, follows Miwako's trail to a remote Japanese village. Chie, Miwako's best friend, was the only person to know her true identity -- but is now the time to reveal it? Meanwhile, Fumi, Ryusei's sister, is harbouring her own haunting secret. Together, they realise that the young woman they thought they knew had more going on behind her seemingly perfect façade than they could ever have dreamed.
- 2018
Rainbirds
- 336 pages
- 12 hours of reading
Ren Ishida is nearly finished with graduate school when he receives news of his sister, Keiko's, sudden death. She was viciously stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister's affairs, still failing to understand why she chose to abandon the family and Tokyo for this desolate town years ago. As he comes to know the figures in Akakawa, from the enigmatic politician to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, alluring student named Rio, Ren delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed, trying to piece together what happened the night of her death. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren struggles to find solace in the void his sister has left behind.