Description: "Set in an apartment complex on the outskirts of Tokyo, Murasaki Yamada's Talk to My Back (1981-84) explores the fraying of Japan's suburban middle-class dreams through a woman's relationship with her two daughters as they mature and assert their independence, and with her husband, who works late and sees his wife as little more than a domestic servant."--Provided by publisher.
Brief description: Yamada Murasaki (1948-2009) debuted as a cartoonist in 1969. Informed by her upbringing--she was raised by her mother and grandmother--and her background in fashion design and poetry, Yamada's early work was unique in form and content, with realistic portraits of young women negotiating their mothers. Later, after having a family of her own, her work shifted to young mothers negotiating children, husbands, and the balance between social responsibilities as a housewife and self-respect as a woman. Considered one of the Three Daughters of Garo, Yamada published manga in practically every issue of Garo from 1978-1986, and is considered the first cartoonist to use the modes of alternative manga to explore womanhood and domesticity with an unromantic eye.
Review Quotes: "This early feminist manga follows a suburban Tokyo woman as she navigates her relationship with an emotionally distant husband, her two maturing daughters and the fear of having been 'thrown away inside that empty vessel called the household." --The New York Times