White Elephant

Juxtaposing the inner voices of two sisters in an elite Japanese family, Idemitsu deftly illustrates the problems of being female. Hiroko, desperate to uphold the family legacy, flounders in the New York art world. Sakiko, craving autonomy, falls into marriage with a brazen Californian artist. Newly translated from Japanese, this semi-autobiographical novel is a quietly complex family portrait.