Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Start discussion here for Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto.

About the Author

Hiromi Goto was born December 31, 1966 Chiba-ken, Japan. She is a Japanese-Canadian editor, fiction writer, and teacher of creative writing.

About the Book from Wikipedia

Chorus of Mushrooms is about finding one’s identity in the midst of alienation and explicit differences. The novel depicted the characters’ different approaches to assimilating themselves within the host country’s culture as well as symbolic meanings of locations and settings crafted in a language that combines the two opposite poles of majority and minority i.e. English and Japanese. The novel also highlights the representational function of food in negotiating the characters' Nikkei diaspora cultural identities. The novel narrated that there can never be an easy way to erase ethnic differences and become immersed into one culture, Or can denying the truth of one’s ethnic origins help in the process. The key is to be able to personally accept that being different is by no means a reason to be alienated and regarded as abnormal. It can be a powerful reason to become a distinct individual who cannot be lost within cultures.