Suggested in the Stars - Yoko Tawada

Hiruko, from the now vanished archipelago 'somewhere between China and Polynesia', and her companions have searched in vain for someone who speaks her native language. They finally track down a sushi chef from the same nation, but he has apparently lost the power of speech. If Hiruko is ever to hear her mother tongue again, a sceptical aphasia specialist is her last hope.