Book Review: ‘All The Lovers in The Night’ by Mieko Kawakami
“Why does the night have to be so beautiful? As I walk through the night, I remember what Mitsutsuka said to me. “Because at night, only half the world remains.“
Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night
As I was ending my journey reading All the Lovers In The Night, I can honestly say I had goosebumps until the last word. Mieko Kawakami really immerses you in the magic of the split second of falling in love, that even though that second is so tiny and fast, if we take the time to zoom into that moment, we can see and feel how a tiny particle of a second carries the deepest oceans of emotion, vulnerability and a glistening dark unknowingness we can’t help but explore. This also makes me realize that if we were to zoom out of our perspective, and see ourselves from a bird’s eye view from outer space as little tiny humans on little tiny earth in this big universe, we can also see that no matter how tiny everything is from the outside, both humans and the earth have deep oceans within them. Whether that mean’s literally in nature’s physical form, or metaphorically as human emotion within each of our hearts. All the Lovers in the Night is definitely one of those books that makes u pause and pulls u into the vortex of one moment that normally would go unnoticed, an intentional act of exploring the little infinity of time.
The story takes us on a journey through Fuyuko Irie’s deepest thoughts as she navigates her discomfort with falling in love as a deeply introverted person. Through Mieko Kawakami’s poetic writing we’re able to see how it really is a part of human nature to connect. More importantly, the author highlights the fact that, no matter how lonely a person might appear, connection is a deep human need. Even though that person appears to be comfortable in their aloneness.
We begin to see this idea unfold in the way Fuyuko expresses connection as a lonely person. The way she connects to the world around her taking in each moment of life, the way she celebrates herself by going on an annual walk on her birthday taking in all her surroundings. Or the way she connects with the few people she stays in contact with, we also see it in the way she finally takes herself out of her comfort zone to finally connect with others. Eventually slipping into the realm of the unknown, the realm of love, where she can’t help but surrender to the discomfort of her blossoming heart.
The journey goes even deeper into Fuyuko’s mind, we come to learn where her loneliness comes from, why she chooses to shield herself safely in the company of her own self. We get to see the way Fuyoko explores the idea of love, as she realizes she unexpectedly caught feelings. She becomes an observer of what love could mean as she pays attention to the way people around her approach love, and connection in their own lives. Whether they water it or not, if they treat it as a vacation or a resting place, if they see it as light or as a dark shadow that grows darker over time.
A repeated concept stood out to me as I was reading the book, which was the concept of light, and how color is the result of when light touches an object. I found this part really beautiful. When light reflects off an object, color affirms itself. Blue is blue, red is red, and if red were to touch the heart of blue, the flutter of a new color would begin to sprout, and purple would get a chance to affirm itself too. Fuyuko is a woman set in her aloneness, she has her routine, she has her job, she has herself, who she is is affirmed in this world, but when she meets Mitsutsuka, everything begins to change. Through the touch of love, a new color awakens within her. Inspiring her to dive head first into love. She begins to radiate a brave new aura, as she begins to take risks, explore different ways of presenting herself to the world, she finds strength in the way her heart cracks open, fully trusting in the rush of love. Just like the way a simple touch of light activates the rush of colors. We can also see this concept mirrored in Fuyuko’s friendships, the way each person in her life radiates a different color, but each of them activate a unique color within Fuyuko, resulting in a deep loyalty Fuyuko keeps within her friendships. She begins to accept her friends for who they are instead of attempting to correct what she sees as faults in them. She comes to see the way the mistakes she sees in them, are traits meant to make them who they are, and there isn’t really anything wrong with that.
The concept of light and color becomes something Fuyuko carries within her as her experience continues to unravel, as she comes to discover the different faces of love. Finally, we come to see the way Fuyuko has a newfound gratitude towards love and connection. She learns that what makes people different aren’t necessarily faults. She learns her own definitions of what love and acceptance means, what she can and cannot accept within those definitions she crafted within her inner beliefs, and how she will move forward with this new awakening within herself.
Overall, All the Lovers In The Night definitely felt like a hidden poetic jem. As I was reading it, the song Labyrinth by Taylor Swift kept creeping into my mind. Specifically the part where she goes “ uh oh I’m falling in love”. One of my biggest take aways from the book was the way Fuyuko took the time to really tune into the way she was falling in love. I found that really sweet of her to want to feel, but at the same time she feels hesitant and wants to protect herself, but at the same time it means that she needs to be vulnerable and open. I feel like the whole process of that meant more to me than the relationship between Fuyuko and Mitsutsuka. The way Mieko Kawakami was able to envelope us in the first few faint sparkles of falling in love, and create a whole book about it written in a way that was so lyrical felt spellbinding.
