Vietnam Women's Publishing House in collaboration with the Japan Cultural Exchange Center in Vietnam has just released the Vietnamese version of the novel "Split Across the Land" by female writer Yoko Tawada. This is her 3rd book published in Vietnam, continuing to introduce to readers a literary style rich in reflection on language, identity and cultural movement.
In "Split across the Earth", Yoko Tawada does not stage a noisy apocalyptic day with familiar ruins. Instead, she creates a quiet and vague post-apocalyptic world, where the collapse of the old order seems to have taken place a long time ago but the cause is not fully explained.
Japan disappeared from the world map as a consequence of many accumulated changes: climate change, urbanization, depleted ecosystems and prolonged self-isolation. When the country disappeared, the name "Japan" only remained through familiar cultural fragments such as sushi, anime or cosplay.
The story begins when Knut - a Danish language studies student - watches a television program with guests from non-existent countries. Among them is Hiruko, a young woman from "a floating archipelago between mainland China and Polynesia". Her country name is not mentioned, but that absence makes it easy for viewers to associate.
Hiruko is a non-national refugee. When the disaster happened, she was studying abroad in Northern Europe and from there drifted through many European countries, making a living by telling fairy tales to immigrant children. What she lost was not only her homeland, but also her mother tongue - something that no one understands now and she herself feels increasingly alien.
From that loss, Hiruko created Panska - a self-made language mixing Scandinavian languages to be able to communicate with many different communities. For her, this language is like a "second body", a way to survive in the new world.
Hiruko and Knut's journey across Europe gradually gathers special companions: Akash - an Indian immigrant who does not follow gender standards; Nora - an uneasy German woman; Tenzo - a sushi chef who is actually a Greenlander wearing a "Japanese identity" as a survival strategy; and the mysterious Susanoo, who may be human, or may be a machine.
Through a multi-voice structure, where each character tells their story, "Split across the land" opens up many reflections on identity, nationality and the role of language in human life.
For Yoko Tawada - a Japanese-German bilingual writer - language is not only a tool for communication but also a haven for memories and identity as all borders become fragile.
