MAKE THE DARK NIGHT SHINE

In Lessik’s novel (based on a true story), a father shares his life story with a daughter he’s never met.

The author uses an ancestor’s story as inspiration for this existential novel. Kenzo Uchida is the son of a Japanese diplomat who was absent from his life. While in college, Kenzo commits to his partner, Mitsu Katayama, and later takes him along on his postings as he follows the same career path as his father. In Constantinople in 1919, he’s the Japanese consul general and enjoys a full social life. He’s advised by Edmund Kinver, the British deputy ambassador, to obtain a female companion to hide his same-sex relationship, and Ukrainian immigrant Elisa Dobrovska agrees to fulfill this role. In Paris, the trio befriend artists, such as Pablo Picasso, and attend jazz and ballet performances. Then tragedy strikes, and Kenzo suffers extreme grief. Elisa supports him and saves him from some sticky situations, and their relationship goes to a place that has lasting consequences. He doesn’t find out until years later that he has a daughter. After suffering further loss, Kenzo studies Zen Buddhism and embarks on a very different career. During World War II, he goes to visit his child for the first time. When he finds himself in a life-threatening situation, he writes an autobiographical account addressed to her. Lessik’s effective use of flashbacks allows Kenzo to tell his story fully, analyzing past events with the wisdom of hindsight as well as offering asides to his daughter. These elements imbue the already lively narrative with a depth of feeling and, often, a sense of poignancy. Kenzo experiences several important events during the interwar years, and he engagingly acts as a witness to 1920s Paris, growing militancy in Japan, and the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. He also writes frankly about his sexuality, his ancestry, and his growing awareness of how others have perceived both. Ultimately, the protagonist teaches his daughter, and readers, about the importance of meditation and a Zen way of life.

A perceptive and sensitive fictional account of the life of a Japanese gay man in the early 20th century.