The Ten Loves of Nishino is a romantic fantasy fiction novel written by Hiromi Kawakami and originally released in 2003 for Japan. The English translated version was released last year along with Kawakami's other short stories releases. Kawamkami is known in Japan for her own special take on literature writing style in fiction writing while adding a hint of mystical fantasy. Her works have been translated into numerous languages. There seems to be a live action film version of this novel as well.
Ten women tell their stories as they encounter a man named Nishino. He's a man of unknown origin by some but most women can't resist him. Do any of these women get a happy ending to their love?
This novel isn't very long so you might be able to finish it in a day if you just sit around reading. Most people don't have much to do except be in the house nowadays anyways. Each chapter comes from a different woman's point of view. Each women has a different personalities that affects the way they view Nishino. While Nishino himself is a very flawed character as you find out from the pieces of information given through their points of views. Dysfunctional communication cause conflict for most of the females based on them seeing Nishino as this perfect man. He's far from living up to what each of these women want him to be. Kawakami's writing style has the character taking on mystical traits like a being that charms women but is also otherworldly in many of the females's eyes. Nishino's story begins in foreshadowing forcing the reader to have an idea where this man fate lies. Still, he still has a live where he touches ten women. In a way, his life lives on in these ten women who aren't likable but you can see why Nishino himself who something in them. He himself was looking for a one and only love in multiple women who saw Nishino as no more than a project. He could be seen as a playboy too or that could be the image the ten women projected on to him. The women who were head strong had the most interesting point of view. Then many of the others were just annoying because they're wants weren't always manageable considering having interaction with a man who can never plainly say the status of their relationship. Just doing actions without putting a lable on what you and another person are will always lead to confusion. Due to this, sometimes I rooted for Nishino and other times I rooted for the women he was currently "seeing". The Ten Loves of Nishino was an overall thought provoking read. These stories really prove that selfishness can be contagious.
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