Short Story Review: “The Death of a Certain Woman” by Yasushi Inoue (Translated, from the Japanese, by J. Martin Holman.)

(The short story “The Death of a Certain Woman” by Yasushi Inoue was published in the November 16^th, 2026 issue of The New Yorker.)

Illustration by Molly Heng Cheang

There are many good points I can make about how enjoyable, affecting, and well written this story is. But I think the greatest magic trick Yasushi Inoue weaves in his story, “The Death of a Certain Woman” is how he made me forget the title of the piece as I was reading, especially as I neared the climax which would lead to the death of a certain woman. I should have clearly seen the tragedy coming, but Inoue swept me up in his story, and I was powerless.

When I finished the story, I wondered; Was this a tragedy? Was it a manipulated memory? Was this a fairy tale of classic romantic proportions? Or was this all just blunt realism? Were the gods just on the edge of the story, present but unseen? Were these people fighting the tide of their better judgement?

I don’t know, and I don’t think I will ever know. And I think that was the point.

I am still surprised at how much this story has stuck with me; both seeing the world as a wonderful and awful place at the same time. How we judge when we shouldn’t. How we start like someone when the give us something. How quickly we can turn our backs and move on.

I will not describe this story, nor give any more details, except to hint at one. Inoue already told you one thing that will happen, but the rest of the story is to be discovered as you read it.

But the one detail I have to share, at least refer to, is the amazing last line of the story. How succinct it is, perfect to the story. It embraces the passage of time, and how heartbreakingly bitter sweet that passage can be. To be the person who still remembers when others have forgotten. To wonder still, what was the point of it all.