The Nakano Thrift Shop – by Hiromi Kawakami

In this slim novel, Kawakami tells the ins and outs of the daily operation of a second-hand shop, and her … More

Kitchen – by Banana Yoshimoto

This book contains two novellas, Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow. The two protagonists are both female college students suffering from the … More

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Kawabata usually chose one aspect of Japanese culture to feature in his novels: … More

I found it fascinating that each of Kawabata’s novels covers different Japanese traditions, be it tea ceremony, No mask, mountain … More

The Sound of the Mountain is a novel set in post war Japan. Shingo Ogata is a 59 year old … More

The Life before Us (La Vie devant soi) portrays a heartbreaking parental love story between a sensitive and prematurely wise … More

From May 2018 to Apr 2019, the Japan Times ran a very informative and interesting “Works by Japanese Women” series … More

This novella is set in a dystopian Japan in an unknown future. Tokyo is not environmentally safe to live in … More

“I’ve known Death a long time, but now Death knows me.” So begins the story of the three Moreau siblings … More

“I often think of the image I can see now, and of which I’ve never spoken. It’s always there, in … More