Book- Masks

Masks, by Fumiko Enchi, is about two psychologically twisted women. One woman, widowed, and her mother-in-law, play a twisted game of seduction and sex, using people for their own purposes, and using each other too.

Enchi surrounds this novel with the paraphernalia of the Japanese Noh dramas. But you do not have to know about Noh (couldn't resist) to enjoy this book at all. The book, though a slim 141 pages, is deep and penetrating. The two women keep everyone they use guessing at their purposes, guessing whether they even like each other, guessing at who is the smarter of the two, guessing at whether they are lesbian lovers---all this guessing keeps anyone from finding the real purpose of the game they play.

While the end is not horrific, it is disturbing in that their end plan is completely morally dubious.

The book is captivating and shows the difference in Japanese culture and ours in many ways. The Japanese, so forthright about sexuality in many ways, compared to our prudishness. It also highlights the masks that they constantly wear, shifting from one to the other, constantly to keep revealing their true face.

Masks is an excellent book, and one that stays with you.