THE END OF SUMMER by Harumi...

THE END OF SUMMER by Harumi Setouchi, translated from the Japanese by Janine Beichman in collaboration with Alan Brender (Kodansha: $8; 151 pp.). The four short stories that make up “The End of Summer” trace the progress of a curious romantic triangle in modern Tokyo. Tomoko, the focus of the triangle, represents an interesting blend of a traditionally passive Japanese woman and a modern, more assertive feminist. Despite a lucrative career as a textile artist, she maintains a liaison with Shingo, a married and unsuccessful novelist: “Tomoko had an abundance of energy and when she met a man whose life force was weak, she often had an unconscious urge to transfer some of her own vitality into the cavern of that man’s soul.” The same desire leads her to enter a more passionate affair with the equally undistinguished advertising agent, Ryota. Like the components of a mobile, the characters continually shift positions, but it is Tomoko who determines the outcome. Her resolve to quit both men mirrors the author’s decision to abandon a literary career for the peace of a Buddhist convent.