Ellio's Return: Translation by Gavin Leigh Lynch

Author Mikiko Toguchi's central character, Ellio, an (unrecognized to himself) talented yet struggling music composer, suffers a number of personal crises in the story beginning with the near-lethal breakup with his girlfriend, and embarks on a turbulent road towards a new realization. Toguchi writes in a powerful, intelligent and eloquent way to take us on an emotional and, sometimes, thrillingly frustrating journey with Ellio.. This masterpiece from Mikiko Toguchi, written in Japanese between 2007 and 2009, has been translated into English to enable a wider global audience to enjoy her writing. The translator, Gavin Leigh Lynch, spent significant time with Toguchi in 2022 and spoke with her at length to understand her way of thinking and the personality behind the writer, along with carefully going over key phrases in her story. Toguchi, highly proficient in the English language herself and capable of translating it should she have had the time, has given her approval to the translation.. The story was inspired by, and is dedicated to, the life (and death) of the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Elliott Smith, who died by suicide in 2003. Toguchi felt shocked at the death by suicide of Smith and felt that, although Elliott had a right to want to die, that he should be also given the right to return to the world in some way. Toguchi felt that this would stop his disappearing from the world and allow him to, even imperfectly, to exist here albeit in a different manner.. Mikiko Toguchi is an Okinawa-based writer, with a large back catalogue of stories and essays. She has won multiple prestigious prizes for her work, and continues to write and evolve. One of her best known stories is "Black Star" 「黒い星」、published in 2009 by the Okinawa Arts Council (沖縄県文化振興会) . She also worked as a research facilitator and language guide, has collaborated with international researchers, is contracted as a free writer for magazines and other organizations, has experience working with animals, and is a very much-loved key person in her society in many important ways.