Issued in a special 20th Anniversary edition, and with *quite* the prize list to its name, I’m surprised the first I’d heard of this book was scrolling through the Bespeak books available on Libby. Last year I read Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto, a funny and touching graphic novel about aging, autonomy, and our relationship with death, so I thought I’d check this out too.

Chorus of Mushrooms is a tale of three Japanese women living in rural Alberta: Naoe, who immigrated to Canada, her daughter Keiko, and Keiko’s daughter, Muriel. Each relates to their immigrant status in their own way: Naoe refuses to speak English and is firmly loyal to Japanese culture. Keiko is the opposite: going by the Westernized name “Kay” she only cooks Western food and refuses to speak Japanese or associate with the culture. Muriel is who ties them together: being raised by her mother, but connecting deeply with her grandmother without speaking Japanese. Nicknamed “Murasaki” by Naoe -- a name she ultimately adopts, she reconciles her family's immigrant experience and her existence as a Japanese-Canadian woman.

The format of this story is so interesting, switching between characters, but also second, first, and third person POV. Initially, I found it a little challenging to follow by audio, but I picked it up eventually. The book is a story within a story: Murasaki telling her unnamed boyfriend her family history, and it delves into fantasy realism and folktale along the way. The book takes a bit to work up, but by the end I was fascinated, entranced, and warmed by the three women’s stories. 

This is a wonderful, definitely underappreciated work of Canadian fiction. It explores the Canadian immigrant experience and women’s experiences so uniquely. If you’re looking to diversify your reading, track it down!