"I feel like a person who is already dead" : Bereavement, healing and magical realism in three contemporary Japanese novels

In this thesis the subject of grief and healing are examined in three novels by the Japanese writers Hiromi Kawakami, Ruth Ozeki and Banana Yoshimoto. The method for the analysis is based on psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief theory, but in the analysis of these novels, it became clear that the grief/healing-stages for the protagonists are not expressed in the exact same manner as the non-fictional patients of Kübler-Ross’ study. The analysis shows that this is partly due to the fact that the narratives take place in Japan and that there is a clear intervention where the writers have used magical interruptions in their realistic portrayal of bereavement, to help the protagonists begin to recover. These magical interruptions, this thesis states, are the use of magical realism, especially connected to the long history of Japanese folklore and myth. As a result, this thesis presents a modified model of analysis, which also reflects how the protagonists filled with bereavement and sorrow can be helped to heal and recover by the interruption of fantastic and magical events. Through this study it has become clear that not only is the need for healing significant but the need for family, relationships and a sense of belonging are just as important. To re-connect with their lost loved ones, whomever they may be, these characters must cross through the magical interventions within the narratives and dare to reach out to the people around them, strengthened by their loss and trauma, rather than fearing relationships with others due to previous trauma and grief