An edition of Secrets of Mariko (1995)

The Secrets of Mariko

A Year in the Life of a Japanese Woman and Her Family

  • 3 Want to read

My Reading Lists:

Create a new list

Check-In

×Close
Add an optional check-in date. Check-in dates are used to track yearly reading goals.
Today

  • 3 Want to read

Buy this book

Last edited by ImportBot
December 17, 2022 | History
An edition of Secrets of Mariko (1995)

The Secrets of Mariko

A Year in the Life of a Japanese Woman and Her Family

  • 3 Want to read

The Secrets of Mariko is a remarkably revealing and intimate look at the life of an ordinary Japanese woman at the close of the twentieth century. Mariko and her husband, three children, and aged parents live in a small house in Tokyo. It is a family typical of hundreds of thousands of others in Japan. Mariko is a part-time meter reader and a very full-time wife, mother, and daughter.

She spends her days cooking, keeping house, taking care of the children and her parents, working at her job, and stealing an afternoon now and then for herself. Through Mariko we gain a rare insight into the culture of Japan and begin to understand the obligations and desires that drive Japanese society.

.

Like many Japanese, Mariko knew very few Westerners, and was instinctively reserved with anyone outside the family circle. But somehow she broke through her sense of privacy and let Elisabeth Bumiller, a reporter for The Washington Post, into her life for more than a year. Over time, as they grew to know each other, Mariko gradually revealed her secrets. Most are small but deeply personal, and together they yield a nuanced portrait of a life.

The Secrets of Mariko speaks eloquently of what it means to be Japanese, and to be an ordinary woman confronting the choices we all must face.

Publish Date
Publisher
Vintage
Language
English
Pages
368

Buy this book

Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: The Secrets of Mariko
The Secrets of Mariko: A Year in the Life of a Japanese Woman and Her Family
October 29, 1996, Vintage
Paperback in English
Cover of: The secrets of Mariko
The secrets of Mariko: a year in the life of a Japanese woman and her family
1995, Times Books
in English - 1st ed.
Cover of: Secrets of Mariko
Secrets of Mariko
Publish date unknown, Random House~trade
Unknown Binding

Add another edition?

Book Details


First Sentence

"When I first heard the name Mariko, it sounded elegant and a little musical, nothing more."

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Number of pages
368
Dimensions
7.9 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
Weight
9.6 ounces

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL7701073M
Internet Archive
secretsofmarikoy0000bumi
ISBN 10
0679772626
ISBN 13
9780679772620
Library Thing
313062
Goodreads
329627

Community Reviews (0)

Feedback?
No community reviews have been submitted for this work.

Lists

See All

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
December 17, 2022 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
December 9, 2022 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
February 2, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
August 6, 2010 Edited by IdentifierBot added LibraryThing ID
April 29, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record