ABSTRACT
This chapter examines two novels that engage with an affective mode of consumption. In Yamada Eimi’s The Cozy Tropical Chair (1987) and Yoshimoto Banana’s Kitchen (1988), consumption and consumed objects subvert conspicuous patterns of consumption typical of the 1980s that aim to enhance one’s self-image or identity. In lieu of such vanity as an empty goal, the novels portray consumed objects vis-à-vis the protagonists’ affective needs, reconstruction of human relations, and gradual self-empowerment. Despite the radically different settings and narrative styles, the two novels share a semantically similar narrative trajectory – the protagonists’ sense of loss, temporary refugee sought among consumed objects, and recovery from psychological damage. Reading these components, the chapter argues that these 1980s’ novels dramatize the potential of wealth to fulfill the affective needs of individuals.
