Exophony
Voyages Outside the Mother Tongue
Format:Paperback
Publisher:John Murray Press
Publishing:24th Jul '25
£16.99
This title is due to be published on 24th July, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

'Tawada's strange, exquisite book toys with ideas of language, identity and what it means to own someone else's story or one's own' The New Yorkeron Tawada's Memoirs of a Polar Bear
How perfect that Tawada's first essay collection in English dives deep into her lifelong fascination with the possibilities opened up by cross-hybridizing languages. Tawada famously writes in both Japanese and German, but her interest in language reaches beyond any mere dichotomy. The term 'exophonic', which she first heard in Senegal, has a special allure for the author: 'I was already familiar with similar terms, 'immigrant literature,' or 'creole literature,' but 'exophonic' had a much broader meaning, referring to the general experience of existing outside of one's mother tongue.'
Tawada revels in explorations of cross-cultural and intra-language possibilities (and along the way deals several nice sharp raps to the global primacy of English). The accent here, as in her fiction, is the art of drawing closer to the world through defamiliarization. Never entertaining a received thought, Tawada seeks the still-to-be-discovered truths, as well as what might possibly be invented entirely whole cloth.
Exophony opens a new vista into Yoko Tawada's world, and delivers more of her signature erudite wit - at once cross-grained and generous, laser-focused and multidimensional, slyly ironic and warmly companionable.
A polyglot's travelogue, steeped in the joys and peculiarities of exploring a foreign language . . . [Exophony is] a playful journey toward the space between languages. * Kirkus Reviews *
The beauty of Tawada's work is that she treats the uncertain footing of the second language learner-and of the native speaker looking back on their first language with new eyes-not as a source of anxiety, but as a source of boundless creative potential. -- Reed McConnell * The Baffler *
Tawada explores the fertile ground of intermingled languages in this scintillating essay collection. Playful and erudite, these essays offer valuable insights into Tawada's own writing and her readings of classic world literature. * Publishers Weekly *
Originally published in Japan in 2003, National Book Award-winning Tawada's enigmatic essay collection-her first in English translation-arrives meticulously enabled by Hofmann-Kuroda, who impressively renders Tawada's inventive linguistic acrobatics. For audiences familiar with Tawada's recent novels, Exophony is an ideal complement, illuminating, exploring, and experiencing 'the space between languages...the poetic ravine between them.' -- Terry Hong * Booklist *
ISBN: 9780349704197
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
192 pages