—The Japan Times
“[The characters] are thoughtfully written—understated, quirky, flawed, and by the end of the novel you care about them so much.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Hiromi Kawakami’s charming novel illuminates moments of kindness, love and friendship that pop up like the unexpected treasures amid the shop’s dusty collection of pretty mismatched bowls and plates, castoff eyeglasses, task lamps and old electric fans.”
—The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
“Subtle, graceful, wise, and threaded on a quirky humor, this exploration of the connections and disconnections between people kept me smiling long after the last page.”
—JULIA ROCHESTER, author of The House at the Edge of the World
“Kawakami has an extraordinarily way of drawing you into her ethereal world where, although nothing really happens, when they do, little transgressions or events cause ripples that spread seamlessly throughout the whole book and stay with you long after the story has finished.”
—The Reprobate (UK)
PARADE
ALSO BY HIROMI KAWAKAMI
The Ten Loves of Nishino
The Nakano Thrift Shop
Record of a Night Too Brief
Strange Weather in Tokyo
Manazuru
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in Japan in 2002 by Heibonsha Co. Ltd.
Copyright © 2002 by Hiromi Kawakami
Illustrations copyright © 2002 by Takako Yoshitomi
Translation copyright © 2019 by Allison Markin Powell
All rights reserved
First Soft Skull edition: 2019
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kawakami, Hiromi, 1958– author. | Powell, Allison Markin, translator.
Title: Parade / Hiromi Kawakami ; translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell.
Other titles: Parēdo. English
Description: First Soft Skull edition. | New York : Soft Skull, 2019. | Originally published in Japanese by Heibonsha in 2002.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019008880 | ISBN 9781593765804 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Children—Japan—Fiction. | Tengu—Fiction. | Tales—Japan.
Classification: LCC PL855.A859 P3713 2019 | DDC 895.6/36—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019008880
Cover design & art direction by salu.io
Book design by Wah-Ming Chang
Illustrations by Takako Yoshitomi
Published by Soft Skull Press
1140 Broadway, Suite 704
New York, NY 10001
www.softskull.com
Soft Skull titles are distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West
Phone: 866-400-5351
Printed in Canada
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PARADE
CONTENTS
Parade
Afterword
“TELL ME A STORY FROM LONG AGO,” Sensei said.
“WHEN YOU SAY ‘LONG AGO,’ HOW LONG ago do you mean?”
“Long ago means long ago.”
“I see.”
Sensei and I were preparing somen noodles. I put the freshly boiled noodles in a colander and muttered, Hot, as I brought my fingertips to my earlobe.
“Does that really work, Tsukiko, touching your earlobe like that?” Sensei asked while he cut a thin fried egg into strips.
“I just assumed so, ever since seeing actresses on television shows do it.”
Now that he mentioned it, though, touching my earlobe seemed like a strange thing to do when I could just as easily run my fingers under cold water. Sensei quickly finished cutting up the egg, and then set about the myoga ginger.