Parade

PRAISE FOR

Strange Weather in Tokyo

“Simply and earnestly told, this is a profound exploration of human connection and the ways love can be found in surprising new places.”

—BuzzFeed

“A moving, funny, and immersive tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance . . . A quiet, understated beauty of a book.”

—Book Riot

“In quiet, nature-infused prose that stresses both characters’ solitude, Kawakami subtly captures the cyclic patterns of loneliness while weighing the definition of love.”

—Booklist

“In its love of the physical, sensual details of living, its emotional directness, and above all in the passion for food, this is somewhat reminiscent of Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen.”

—Independent (UK)

“Each chapter of the book is like a haiku, incorporating seasonal references to the moon, mushroom picking and cherry blossoms. The chapters are whimsical and often melancholy, but humor is never far away . . . It is a celebration of friendship, the ordinary and individuality and a rumination on intimacy, love and loneliness. I cannot recommend Strange Weather in Tokyo enough, which is also a testament to the translator who has skillfully retained the poetry and beauty of the original.”

—Japan Society

“Strange Weather in Tokyo is a tender love story that drifts with the lightness of a leaf on a stream. Subtle and touching, this is a novel about loneliness, assuaged by an unlikely romance, and brought to life by one of Japan’s most engaging contemporary writers.”

—Readings (Australia)

“A dreamlike spell of a novel, full of humor, sadness, warmth, and tremendous subtlety. I read this in one sitting, and I think it will haunt me for a long time.”

—AMY SACKVILLE, author of Painter to the King and The Still Point

PRAISE FOR

Manazuru

“In Kawakami’s first novel to be translated into English, a woman fades in and out of the present as she visits the beach town of Manazuru, in the shadow of Mt. Fuji. The real and the fantastical meld as Kei narrowly avoids disaster (she escapes the typhoon that destroys the restaurant where she was dining). Her memories are startlingly vivid, yet their veracity remains uncertain; are the visions she has of her husband with another woman real or imagined? Kawakami has a remarkable ability to obscure reality, fantasy, and memory, making the desire for love feel hauntingly real.”

—Publishers Weekly

“The action convincingly moves in waves between Kei’s past and present, the surreal and the everyday. Part ghost story, part meditation on life and death, family and self, this slim novel is captivating and suspenseful, and sure to satisfy not only fans of ghost fiction but all readers.”

—Booklist

PRAISE FOR

The Nakano Thrift Shop

“Kawakami lavishes attention on quotidian minutiae and exquisitely awkward pauses, ending scenes on maddeningly unresolved but vibrant images . . . It feels a lot like daily life in Tokyo, but odder.”

—The New York Times

“A gentle, humorous novel.”

—The Wall Street Journal

“[Kawakami] knows she doesn’t need fireworks to keep the reader entertained, and is pushing her exploration of form and style.”