The Friends
by Kazumi Yumoto
translated by Cathy Hirano

Yearling Book, 1992, 180pp, $450
ISBN 0-440-41446-6

Sixth graders-Kiyama, Kawabe and Yamashita are curious as to what death is like. After Yamashita’s grandmother dies, Kawabe decides to spy on an old man. Kiyama and Yamashita were hauled into the situation. The friends are convinced that the old man will die soon, and they’ll be the first ones to see it. But soon they discover that the old man was watching them too. The friends and old man befriend each other.  Together they spend their summer vacation side by side. Kiyama, the main character, who’s just “average,” tells the story of his adventure. With his wacky, outgoing friend Kawabe, and pudgy, scared-cat Yamashita, they weave in and out of trouble, from getting back at their rivals Sugita and Matsushita to playing soccer and swimming, to watching fireworks at twilight. But they still tend to keep an eye on the old man. Just like scavengers, they wait for him to drop dead. While they wait, they soon discover the mysteries of the old man’s past and the inscrutability of death. Their friendship will change their lives forever.

In The Friends discover the writing style that a Japanese author would use. Yumoto gives each of the characters a personality and trait that defines each one of them and the reader is able to distinguish easily. Like Yamashita is described as a pudgy 6th grader who is always nervous, on the other hand Kiyama is described as a skin-and-bone, tall dude. It illustrated that once the student has his mind set, he won’t go off the tracks until he have “mission accomplished.” Though the characters had wild and crazy ideas, it pointed out that kids everywhere have minds of their own. The idea of spying on an old man until his death would take courage and friends to back Kiyama up. What it also demonstrated was adults have feelings too, that you shouldn’t always misjudge them. In the book, Kawabe was sure the old man was a dirty, soon-to-be-dead person. But he didn’t expect that they were soon to be friends. The friendship that is described through the plot and characterization make the characters understand life more—even death.

The story shows making and keeping friendship alive amongst kids. How it affects all of us, without friendship you have no one. Because of your loneliness, you feel hate to the world. Then everyone around you will think badly of you—and soon you’ll feel poorly of yourself too. This theme is shown throughout the story. Yumoto blends the different events from the story together so they will flow as one. When I was reading the book, I got the feel that I was in Japan and next to Kiyama through his journey. Yumoto also described different areas of Japan, giving them rich detail to create images in your mind.  A lesson learned from the story that life is more than one expects--and so is death. Like American authors, Yumoto would give the right amount of details to each event/character. Yet she still sometimes leaves you at mystery. 

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy tense page--turning adventures and/or are curious about death. It’s also for readers who like to discover more about Japan. I didn’t put the book down--if I did, it didn’t stay put for long. Whether you buy it (in which it is worth the money) or borrowing it, you’ll want to read again and again. Each time I read it I was dragged into the mystery of death. New details sprouted from each page, journeying me into an irresistible story. The characters took on a challenge and brought it alive to me.  Readers will enjoy this book that has a moral that would change their perspective to the world.

~ reviewed by Susie K.