Yumi and the Nightmare Painter – Brandon Sanderson
Secret Project 3 was Sanderson’s favorite. It was his wife’s favorite.
While it wasn’t my favorite, (Tress of the Emerald Sea has my heart forever.) it was a close second. Emily Sanderson, Brandon Sanderson’s wife, encouraged him to write more romance in his stories. Inspired by big works such as Final Fantasy X, Hikaru no Go by Yumi Hotta with art by Takeshi Obata, and Your Name by Makato Shinkai, this book does not fail to pack an emotional punch.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is about two starkly different individuals coming together to save both of their worlds. They wake up in each other’s bodies and have to navigate foreign cultures. They have to work through a large amount of frustration to figure out why it’s happening and what’s truly happening to them.
Yumi, whose world is inspired by Korean culture, is a yoki-hijo. This translates to “The girl of commanding primal spirits.” She’s able to draw the sprits in with the art of rocking stacking so the spirits can then use their powers to aid the people in the villages she travels to. It is a highly religious and honored experience. Yumi has many rituals to do, a lot of practicing that must be done, and meditations she has to do to ensure she remains focus on her servitude.
Nikaro, also known as Painter, fights nightmares. He walks the streets at night with his paintbrushes and canvases and he fights nightmares that feed on people. He’s an artist who has lost his way, his friends, and spends his time in isolation. His world is more technologically advanced than Yumi’s, with Hion lines that can be used as a source of power. In fact, they’re used as a sort of television within the home.
Nikaro and Yumi have to learn to come together to fix the reason they’re swapping bodies. This proves to be incredibly challenging due to their differing cultures. However, what I admired most about this, was how they came to appreciate each other’s creative and artistic expressions. Painter has to learn to stack rocks well enough to draw spirits and Yumi has to learn to paint. It’s wonderful. In fact, some of this book felt like a love letter to creative expression and creative people.
“Then you get into the real world, and find that it’s hard to be creative like that every moment. You realize they didn’t teach you the important things, like how to work when you don’t feel passionate, or when the whims of creativity aren’t striking you. What then? What good is theory when you need to feed yourself?”
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, pg 421
It was beautiful.
I also appreciated that this book touched on processing pieces of trauma. Yumi spent her whole life repressing every earthly urge that came to her because she was made to feel bad about it by Liyun, her guardian of sorts. In fact, Yumi wishes to do things such as go to festivals and be normal. Those are not bad things. And yet, since she was chosen at birth to serve, she is unable to. Watching her grow and work through feelings of shame, guilt, and remorse as the story progresses was one of my favorite aspects of the story.
“Trauma doesn’t decrease with company, but it does grow easier to work through when you know someone else understands.”
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, pg 136
“Abuse is a more effective form of captivity than a cell will ever be.”
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, pg 361
The romance in this book was sweet. I watched a lot of romance anime as a teenager. I mean, entire seasons in one night (I wish I could still do that) and this was reminiscent of that. However, the romance was somewhat in the background, especially in the beginning of the story. The focus was on establishing the worldbuilding and a solid plot. Don’t get me wrong, it was there, and it was an integral part of the book, but saving the world came first. I appreciate that. It made the romantic moments better.
In fact, this book had me laughing, smiling, kicking my feet, and crying.
A book that can make you feel that is a book with well-developed characters, a dynamic plot, and intriguing worldbuilding.
That’s what Yumi and the Nightmare Painter has. It may not be my favorite of the secret projects, but it is still currently sitting next to Tress of the Emerald Sea and Mistborn on my favorite bookshelf in my room.
Out of all of the secret projects so far, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter seemed to have the most Cosmere references. I can’t really speak to all of them, and honestly I think its more fun if you find them yourself, but I do know there’s a big reveal in this book. I have not read the Stormlight Archives, so I can’t speak to that. Maybe it’s not a big reveal. I do plan on rereading this book after reading the entirety of the Stormlight Archives so I can get a more comprehensive picture of the Cosmere.
I cannot end this review without talking about the beautiful, absolutely jaw-dropping, gorgeous art by Aliya Chen. This is some of my favorite art among all the projects. It is so soft and evokes a whimsical feel.
5/5 stars. A precious, endearing story that had me giggling, crying, and grinning from ear to ear.
“I, however, find that the moments we take into our souls as memories are far more important than what we eat.”
Brandon Sanderson, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter