Sarah Rexford, the protagonist of The Favorites, is, like the book's author, half Japanese and half American. In the first part of the novel, she travels with her mother back to Japan to visit her grandmother and aunts, learning much about identity, love, and families in the process.
Sarah's family has an open secret that causes much pain among its members and requires careful politicking to stay ahead of the ever-shifting allegiances. Yoko, Sarah's mother, drills her in the "forward-thinking game," the chess-like practice of considering all the rippling emotional consequences of one's actions before making any move.
It's only by succeeding at this game that Sarah can earn the love of her mother and grandmother, because love in The Favorites is entirely conditional. Sarah's coming of age moment is when she learns to ally with Yoko against her aunt, crossing an "invisible line of allegiance" and realizing that her happiness comes "at the cost of someone else."
The Favorites is a beautiful, heartbreaking novel. Not since Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club has a book explored the relationships between mothers and daughters so truthfully. I will keep my eye on Waters' forthcoming works.
Water, Mary Yukari. The Favorites. New York: Scribner, 2009. 279 pp.
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