Mental health struggles and an encounter with a Shinto goddess combine in this buzzy debut

Your friendly correspondents love a good coming-of-age novel that incorporates ancient mythology, which is why we were thrilled when “The Lost Souls of Benzaiten” landed on our desks.

Kelly Murashige’s debut novel follows Machi, a Japanese American teenager who has been unable to speak since she had a falling out with her two best (and only) friends.

When we meet Machi, she is in an appointment with her new therapist, feeling like she’s starting from scratch again. At the end of their session, Dr. Tsui challenges her to go on an adventure to some place she’s never been before. While it feels like a big ask, this is how she ends up at a shrine that doesn’t appear on any maps. And how she meets Benzaiten, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune in the Shinto tradition.

Machi has what she knows is an unusual wish: she has just prayed to become a robot vacuum, but Benzaiten asks her to reconsider. Benzaiten loves the human world and is convinced that, with time, Machi will too. With Benzaiten and Dr. Tsui’s guidance, Machi begins to rediscover who she is.

We received copies of “The Lost Souls of Benzaiten” from the good people at SoHo Teen

You can purchase your own copy at our Bookshop storefront here: 

Asha: I thought Kelly Murashige’s writing was so evocative. What did you think?

Lakshmi: I totally agree. Also, I so appreciated that she took the chance with an unconventional premise — and pulled it off! The robot vacuum cleaner! The mutism! The goddess at the shrine! Just really eclectic elements

Asha: Definitely. I don’t know much about Shinto gods so I really appreciated getting to learn more.

Lakshmi: I was about to say something similar — I I don’t know much about Shintoism in general beyond what we learned in world history in 10th grade!

Asha: I’m also a sucker for the premise of ending up somewhere that’s not on any map, and that you’re not sure how to find again! Does the shrine actually exist? Who knows!

Lakshmi: The way the lines are blurred here-- what is real, what is a product of Machi's illness, and what is the divine – all of that was incredibly well done.

Asha: Interestingly Wikipedia says that Benzaiten originated from Saraswati and was adopted into the Shinto religion

Lakshmi: That’s funny, because she reminded me of Saraswati! That tracks for me.

Asha: Agreed.

Lakshmi: There is a lot of loss and misunderstanding in this book too. In the beginning of the book we see Machi's family grieving two deaths. Machi is obviously grieving the loss of this formative friendship…

Asha: I was going to say…we should mention that Machi’s parents are in her mother’s hometown throughout this entire book, because Machi’s maternal grandparents have died unexpectedly.

Lakshmi: And they are in Hawaii!

Asha: Machi’s in Hawaii? I wasn’t sure…

Lakshmi: I also kept wondering throughout…

Asha: I assumed, but did we get a confirmation?

Lakshmi: So you are right, we don’t get a confirmation. But where would there be a Shinto shrine, and such diverse asian populations, and the weather, etc.

Asha: That’s why I assumed it was Hawaii…And presumably her mother’s from the mainland, where her family was the only Japanese family in town, which got them ostracized

Anyway, because her parents are away, and since she stopped talking she’s been in online school, Machi is navigating the new therapist and her adventures with Benzaiten on her own.

Lakshmi: I really felt for the parents too, because clearly they are trying so hard to figure out what caused Machi to stop talking. They go to specialist after specialist

Asha: I also felt for them! They’re really trying.

Lakshmi: The scenes with that one useless therapist was so funny. Like she just let Machi.. not talk but didn't ask her to nod or write or anything. So it was like paying a provider to then have the patient essentially lie down for 40 minutes.

Asha: There were a few useless therapists!

Lakshmi: I think the montage of therapists also showed how hard this is to treat – when the patient can't speak you really have to be both compassionate and skilled at your profession.

Asha: Before she found one that actually seemed to work (and then that therapist left? Retired? Hence the new one)

So, even though Machi can’t speak, she does write. So she has a whiteboard to communicate, and text messaging. Which doesn’t actually seem to phase many people she meets even though she’s self-conscious about it.

Lakshmi: The scene when she was ordering ice cream and started writing also stuck with me.

I also thought a lot about how hard it is to get mental health care. This family is fairly well-to-do but it takes SO LONG to get a competent provider!

(granted, I think about this topic a lot in general, but it really hammered it home)

Asha: Yes! Trying to find a good therapist is a little like dating. So many won’t fit, and it can take a while to find one that will. Which makes it especially hard when you lose them and have to start over.

Lakshmi: Which is so challenging if the mental health issue you are seeking to address is urgent!

Asha: Yes that too! Going through a bunch of the wrong people, you can really lose momentum.

Lakshmi: Can you talk more about WHY she wants to be a vacuum cleaner? Because that is also just really hard to pull off narratively but this author did it.

Asha: To quote Machi herself:

Everyone loves those little round things. They’re treated like humans, given names and showered with praise when they finish clearing, but no one expects them to be anything more than what they are. They weren’t built to mingle or get along with fellow machinery. They do what is asked of them, and that’s it.

Lakshmi: The need to be mechanical and useful – that is relatable

Asha: It is. Machi seems to have a hard time making friends in general, for whatever reason. She doesn’t really trust that people like her for her, and not for what she can do for them

Lakshmi: She certainly lives in her head a lot, but she is also a very like-able character

Asha: She is!

Lakshmi: I liked spending 200 pages with her.

Asha: She’s a very thoughtful person. 

Lakshmi: There's just a lot of compassion in general in this book

Asha: She just places way more meaning on other peoples’ actions than she should: ie. She has a lot of rejection sensitive dysphoria. 

Lakshmi: Like you said, people Machi interacts with are understanding-- even if they are not part of her orbit (meaning the waiters, store clerks, etc) just roll with it

Asha: And part of her journey is learning that not everything she tells herself is true

Which is a good lesson for all of us!

Lakshmi: Yes for sure.

It's interesting that there are so many YA novels openly discussing mental health now. Also both the content notes and acknowledgements in this book are striking

Asha: I think it makes sense…anxiety seems to be at an all time high

Lakshmi: Yes and in the acknowledgements- Kelly Murashige essentially says she's not Machi…but she is a little…

Asha: Humans weren’t meant to be this connected all the time! And I think all of us want to feel useful. And it’s okay to lose touch with people we knew 20+ years ago!

Lakshmi: I think a lot about that connectedness when it comes to social media.Like we aren't supposed to know what our high school lab partner thinks about the president, etc

Asha: In her note at the beginning of the book Kelly Murashige says: “For the record, in every draft of this book, the main character’s wish was to become a robot vacuum cleaner. That one thing has never changed.”

Lakshmi: That was so funny about the vacuum cleaner. I wonder how she arrived at this plot (meaning the desire to be vacuum and what that represents.)

Asha: Who doesn’t love a robot vacuum!

Lakshmi: she also notes that she did take liberties with the myth of Benzaiten, because obviously the real goddess doesn't sound like a teen girl…

Asha: (but really, who knows, maybe she does)

Lakshmi: …but the way Benzaiten was exemplified was also so fun and new.

Asha: That’s the beauty of mythology!

Lakshmi: I want more ambitious YA novels. I can imagine the agent and author really thinking of how to sell this one-- it's different but in a good way.

Asha: Ah marketing, such a fraught topic for another time

Each month, we’re sharing our current list of pop culture favs with readers! These are a few of our (current) favorite things!

What we are watching: 

Asha: AppleTV+ has some good shows! Right now I’m watching “Lady in The Lake”. Maddie Schwartz (Natalie Portman), a Jewish housewife in 1960s Baltimore who has recently separated from her husband, investigates two unrelated murders: Tessie Durst, an 11yo girl from Maddie’s neighborhood; and Cleo Johnson (Moses Ingram), a Black woman who works a few jobs to provide for her sons and perpetually-out-of-work husband.

Lakshmi: I’m typing this while I’m on a flight right now (say hello if you will also be at the Asian American Journalists Convention!). Anyway, I’m watching the CBS show Elspeth for the first time and I have to say that it does the “quirky woman solves crimes” trope well! I basically only watch CBS shows on flights so I’m also catching up on the U.S. version of “Ghosts,” which is also fun!

What we are reading: 

Asha: The Apple TV+ series is based on a book of the same name by Laura Lippman, which of course meant I had to start the book as well. Lippman’s book was inspired by two real-life, unrelated, murders in Baltimore in 1969: 11yo Esther Lebowitz and Shirley Parker. It’s different from the show and I’m really enjoying it so far.

Lakshmi: While listening to a recent episode of The Stacks — one of my favorite podcasts dedicated to books — I heard a passing mention to Natalie Sue’s “I Hope This Finds You Well” as an example of a great modern day workplace novel. I devoured it over the course of a weekend and have already convinced at least two other people I know in real life to check it out. Basically, the Iranian Canadian heroine is caught sending gossipy emails about her coworkers. A required HR training throws her into a whirlwind— and she also accidentally ends up being able to access all sorts of information she isn’t meant to see.

What we are listening to: 

Asha: I recently saw “Deadpool and Wolverine” so I’m on a late 90s/early ‘00s music kick! The soundtrack had so many throwbacks…it knew its audience!

Lakshmi: I’ve been checking out Norah Jones’ old podcast “Norah Jones is Playing Along” and it’s so fun. (Her episode with her sister Anoushka Shankar is a particular standout.) Added bonus: Norah just came out with a Tiny Desk Concert, so that has also been in my work soundtrack rotation.