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Strange Weather in Tokyo

Series: Best of Granta
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( 50,395 ratings, 6,868 reviews)
Brief Description
A tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance. 'Enchanting, moving and funny in equal measure, this compelling love story is expertly crafted against a backdrop of modern Japanese culture' Stylist Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to meet... Read More
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Included in the BEST OF GRANTA series: a new edition of the bestselling Japanese novel, by the Akutagawa Prize-winning author

Included in the BEST OF GRANTA series: a new edition of the bestselling Japanese novel, by the Akutagawa Prize-winning author

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

A tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance.

'Enchanting, moving and funny in equal measure, this compelling love story is expertly crafted against a backdrop of modern Japanese culture' Stylist

Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, 'Sensei', in a bar. He is at least thirty years her senior, retired and, she presumes, a widower.

After this initial encounter, the pair continue to meet occasionally to share food and drink sake, and as the seasons passβ€”from spring cherry blossom to autumnal mushroomsβ€”Tsukiko and Sensei come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love.

Strange Weather in Tokyo is perfectly constructed, warmly funny and deeply moving.

This edition contains the bonus story, 'Parade', which imagines an ordinary day in the lives of this unusual couple.

'A dream-like spell of a novel, full of humour, sadness, warmth and tremendous subtlety. I read this in one sitting and I think it will haunt me for a long time' Amy Sackville

'Kawakami transforms an affecting cross-generational romance into an exquisite poem of time and mutability.... Delicate and haunting' Independent

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781803510170

Publisher: Granta Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 April 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Granta Books

Contributors:

  • Translated by Allison Markin Powell
  • Translated by Allison Markin Powell

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 159g

Pages: 224

About the Author

HIROMI KAWAKAMI is one of Japan's most popular contemporary novelists. She is the recipient of the Pascal Short Story Prize for New Writers, the Akutagawa Prize, the Ito Sei Literature Award, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize and the Joryu Bungaku Sho (Women Writers' Prize). Strange Weather in Tokyo won the Tanizaki prize, was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, and has been translated into thirteen languages.

ALLISON MARKIN POWELL is a literary translator and editor in New York City. She has translated works by Osamu Dazai, Kaho Nakayama, and Motoyuki Shibata, and was the guest editor for the first Japan issue of Words Without Borders.

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