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Sixty-Nine

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( 4,144 ratings, 345 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Sixty-Nine by Ryu Murakami is a coming-of-age story set in Japan during the turbulent 1969. The novel follows a high school student named Kensuke Yazaki who, inspired by the global cultural revolutions, plans a festival and aims to start a band in his sleepy town. Through humour and wit, the book captures the spirit of teenage rebellion and the yearning for freedom and identity during a pivotal era.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to stories filled with youthful rebellion and coming-of-age tales set in the vibrant backdrop of 1960s Japan. Its humorous and nostalgic tone offers a unique glimpse into the era's cultural shifts, capturing the spirit of a generation inspired by change and rock 'n' roll.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A side-splittingly funny coming-of-age novel set in the Japan of the sixties

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In a small, inconsequential city in Japan, all that matters to 17-year-old Kensuke Yazaki and his friends is girls, rock music and, to a much lesser extent, school. Told at high speed and with irresistible humour by Kensuke himself, this is the story of their 1969, as they engage in heated conversations about Marxism, Rimbaud, Godard, the Beatles and the Stones, set up a barricade in their school, organise a rock festival and map out a highly successful strategy in girl-winning.

This is a young Japan entirely turned towards the West, pervaded by Western music, where the girls have nicknames pulled from famous British films, but still locked in a fight with the rigid post-war conservatism of the older generation.

Sixty-Nine is translated from the Japanese by Ralph McCarthy.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781908968463

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 May 2013

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pushkin Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Ralph F. McCarthy

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Born in 1952 in Nagasaki prefecture, Ryu Murakami is the enfant terrible of contemporary Japanese literature. Awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1976 for his first book, a novel about a group of young people drowned in sex and drugs, he has gone on to explore with cinematic intensity the themes of violence and technology in contemporary Japanese society. His novels include Coin Locker Babies, Sixty-Nine, Popular Hits of the Showa Era, Audition, In the Miso Soup and From the Fatherland, with Love. Murakami is also a screenwriter and a director; his films include Tokyo Decadence, Audition and Because of You.

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