By Kaylie Seed
The Woman in the Purple Skirt is a short thriller that follows a woman who calls herself The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan (Cardigan) as she observes The Woman in the Purple Skirt (Skirt) on a daily basis. What begins as innocent observations quickly escalates into stalking as Cardigan becomes obsessed with Skirt over the entirety of the book. The reader will experience Cardigan stalking Skirt from noting activities that Skirt does to dreaming about the day that they may finally speak.
Natsuko Imamura has created a character that is unlike others I have encountered in books. The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan is an unreliable narrator because of this obsession with The Woman in the Purple Skirt; however, because of the obsession, it is hard to not believe everything the narrator says and does. The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan is truly a juxtaposition. Imamura’s prose is deadpan, and because of that, readers may find the writing to be dry even though it is detailed.
While this is a short read, it is incredibly obscure and difficult to recommend to readers unless they are looking for a specific type of book. Think literary fiction meets slow-burn thriller meets deadpan conversations. While it’s labeled as a thriller, it tends to read more like a literary fiction novel that peers into this particular moment in time between these two women. While this novel may seem short and to the point, there is a lot of detail throughout these pages, so readers will need to pay close attention so that they don’t miss anything. But don’t expect all of your questions to be answered—this one truly focuses on a brief moment in time between Cardigan and Skirt.
Thank you, Penguin Random House Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.