Swallows
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 174 ratings, 97 reviews)
Found a better price? Request a price match
Swallows
Swallows
Vibrating with the injustices of class and gender, tradition and power, Swallows is an acerbic, witty vision of contemporary Japan by Natsuo Kirino, acclaimed author of the smash hit Out
Twenty-nine-year-old Riki is sick of her dead-end job, of struggling to get by ever since she moved to Tokyo from the country. So when someone offers her the chance to become a surrogate in return for a life-changing amount of money, it's hard to turn down. But how much of herself will she be forced to give away?
Retired ballet star Motoi and his wife, Yuko, have spent years trying to conceive. As Yuko begins to make peace with her childlessness, Motoi grows increasingly desperate for a child to whom he can pass on his elite genes. Their last resort is surrogacy; a business transaction, plain and simple. But as they try to exert ever more control over Riki, their contract with her starts to slip through their fingers.
Vibrating with the injustices of class and gender, tradition and power, Swallows is an acerbic, witty vision of contemporary Japan, and of a young woman's fight to preserve her dignity - at any cost.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781837264285
Publisher: Canongate Books
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 14 August 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Canongate Books
Edition: Main
Contributors:
- Translated by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 26.0mm
Width: 135.0mm
Height: 214.0mm
Weight: 360g
Pages: 352
About the Author
Natsuo Kirino is one of Japan's most highly decorated authors. In 1993, she won the Edogawa Rampo Prize for Rain Falling on My Face. In 1998, she won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for OUT, in 1999 the Naoki Prize for Sweetcheeks, in 2003 the Izumi Kyoka Prize for Grotesque, in 2004 the Shibata Renzaburo Prize for What Remains, in 2005 the Fujin Koron Literary Award for Awakening!, in 2008 the Tanizaki Junichiro Prize for Tokyo-Jima, in 2009 the Murasaki Shikibu Literary Prize for The Goddess Chronicle, and in 2010 and 2011 the Shima Kiyoshi Romance Literature Prize and the Yomiuri Literary Prize for What on Earth Would There Be? In 2015, she was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon and in 2021 the Waseda University Tsubouchi Shoyo Grand Prize. In 2011, she won the Mainichi Art Award and in 2023, the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize for Swallows - her fifth novel to be translated into English. A TV adaptation of Swallows aired in summer 2024 to great critical acclaim.
kirino-natsuo.com
Also by Natsuo Kirino
View allMore from General Fiction
View allWhy buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
