Серия книг «Japanese Novellas» — 13 книг

The Akutagawa Prize-winning stories from one of the most highly regarded and provocative contemporary Japanese writers

'The nightingale sang again. The plates on the table gleamed, and the food, in all its ceaseless variety, breathed, glossy and bright. The night had only just begun.'

In these three haunting and lyrical stories, three young women experience unsettling loss and romance.

In a dreamlike adventure, one woman travels through an apparently unending night with a porcelain girlfriend, mist-monsters and villainous monkeys; a sister mourns her invisible brother whom only she can still see, while the rest of her family welcome his would-be wife into their home; and an accident with a snake leads a shop girl to discover the snake-families everyone else seems to be concealing.

Sensual, yearning, and filled with the tricks of memory and grief, Record of a Night Too Brief is an atmospheric trio of unforgettable tales.

The Akutagawa Prize-winning stories from one of the most highly regarded and provocative contemporary Japanese writers

'The nightingale sang again. The plates on the table…

A boy is obsessed with a woman who sells sandwiches. He goes to the supermarket almost every day, just so he can look at her face. She is beautiful to him, and he calls her "Ms Ice Sandwich", and endlessly draws her portrait.

But the boy's friend hears about this hesitant adoration, and suddenly everything changes. His visits to Ms Ice Sandwich stop, and with them the last hopes of his childhood.

A moving and surprisingly funny tale of growing up and learning how to lose, Ms Ice Sandwich is Mieko Kawakami at her very best.

A boy is obsessed with a woman who sells sandwiches. He goes to the supermarket almost every day, just so he can look at her face. She is beautiful to him, and he calls her "Ms…

Winner of the Akutagawa Prize, a sharp, photo-realistic novella of memory and thwarted hope Divorced and cut off from his family, Taro lives alone in one of the few occupied apartments in his block, a block that is to be torn down as soon as the remaining tenants leave. Since the death of his father, Taro keeps to himself, but is soon drawn into an unusual relationship with the woman upstairs, Nishi, as she passes on the strange tale of the sky-blue house next door. First discovered by Nishi in the little-known photo-book 'Spring Garden', the sky-blue house soon becomes a focus for both Nishi and Taro: of what is lost, of what has been destroyed, and of what hope may yet lie in the future for both of them, if only they can seize it.

Winner of the Akutagawa Prize, a sharp, photo-realistic novella of memory and thwarted hope Divorced and cut off from his family, Taro lives alone in one of the few occupied…

A startling novella from the heir to Haruki Murakami and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Trapped in Tokyo, left behind by a series of girlfriends, the narrator of Slow Boat sizes up his situation. His missteps, his violent rebellions, his tiny victories. But he is not a passive loser, content to accept all that fate hands him. He attempts one last escape to the edges of the city, holding the only safety net he has known – his dreams.

Filled with lyrical longing and humour, Slow Boat captures perfectly the urge to get away and the necessity of finding yourself in a world which might never even be looking for you.

A startling novella from the heir to Haruki Murakami and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Trapped in Tokyo, left behind by a series of girlfriends, the narrator of Slow Boat sizes up…

Winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, three dream-like tales of memory and war

Visiting a friend in the French countryside, a man finds himself cast into the quandaries of historical whim, religious identity, and seeing without sight; a walk along the seashore, upon the anniversary of a death, becomes a reverie on building sandcastles; and an innocent break-in at the ruins of an archbishop's residence takes a turn towards disaster.

In three stories that prove the unavoidable connections of our past, Toshiyuki Horie creates a haunting world of dreams and memories where everyone ends up where they began - whether they want to or not.

Winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, three dream-like tales of memory and war

Visiting a friend in the French countryside, a man finds himself cast into the quandaries of…

Two brilliant, multi-layered stories from the winner of the Kenzaburo Oe Prize: part of our Japanese novella series, showcasing the best contemporary Japanese writing.

On the eve of the Iraq War, a man and a woman meet in a nightclub in Tokyo. They go to a love hotel, and spend the next five days in a torrid affair. Written in a stream of consciousness, with the reader's perceptions shifting and melting into one another, what is remarkable in this story is not what happens, but the ability of the writer to enter the minds and memories of the protagonists.

In the second story, a woman living in a damp flat obsesses on the filthy state of her dwelling. She remains in bed for the duration of the narrative, but the drama and tension of her inner life – spiralling further and further into her memories and anxieties – keep the reader engrossed to the very end.

Two brilliant, multi-layered stories from the winner of the Kenzaburo Oe Prize: part of our Japanese novella series, showcasing the best contemporary Japanese writing.

On the…

Other people don’t seem to understand Amiko. Whether eating curry rice with her hands at school or peeking through the sliding doors at her mother’s calligraphy class, her curious, exuberant nature mostly meets with confusion.

When her mother falls into a depression and her brother begins spending all his time with a motorcycle gang, Amiko is left increasingly alone to navigate a world where she doesn’t quite fit.

Subtle, tender and moving, This is Amiko shows us life through the eyes of a unique, irrepressible, neurodivergent young character.

Other people don’t seem to understand Amiko. Whether eating curry rice with her hands at school or peeking through the sliding doors at her mother’s calligraphy class, her…

Tense, subtly disturbing Japanese literary horror perfect for fans of Tender is the Flesh and The Vegetarian

An unforgettably creepy child narrator weaves uncanny tales about her new stepmother in this feminist horror novella + short story collection that introduces a unique new voice in Japanese literature

A young girl loses her mother, and her father blindly invites his secret lover into the family home to care for her. As she obsessively tries to curate a pristine life, this new interloper remains indifferent to the girl, who seems to record her every move - and she realises only too late all that she has failed to see.

With masterful narrative control, Nails and Eyes—appearing in English for the first time—builds to a conclusion of disturbing power. Paired with two additional stories of unsettled minds and creeping tension, it introduces a daring new voice in Japanese literature.

Tense, subtly disturbing Japanese literary horror perfect for fans of Tender is the Flesh and The Vegetarian

An unforgettably creepy child narrator weaves uncanny tales about…

An unsettling, poignant debut novella about unusual connections fostered by the covid pandemic, perfect for fans of sharp literary fiction that reflects and confronts our world

It’s early 2020, and with the world in chaos as covid spreads, two lonely people, both seeking to break with their pasts, meet and start sharing a home.

One is a former security guard who was captured on video knocking down a protester who died soon afterward; the other, a former teacher accused of driving a student to suicide.

In an oppressive atmosphere of tension and fear, the pair avoid direct contact and communicate through notes and their shared presences, close yet distant. Their odd connection, with neither affection nor trust, brings them a kind of privacy and safety they both need – but at what cost? The book’s creeping tension draws out an unforgettable story of disconnection and disruptive change.

An unsettling, poignant debut novella about unusual connections fostered by the covid pandemic, perfect for fans of sharp literary fiction that reflects and confronts our world…

A fast-paced, darkly ironic novella from one of Japan’s contemporary luminaries—and the husband of Mieko Kawakami—making his English language debut

A teenager gripped by obsession seeks to free endangered birds in this darkly funny study of solitude and toxic masculinity set in modern-day Tokyo

Perfect for fans of Earthlings by Sayaka Murata and Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs

Isolated in his Tokyo apartment, 17-year-old Haruo spends all his time online, researching the plight of the endangered Japanese crested ibis, Nipponia Nippon.

Living on an allowance from his parents, he drops ever further into a fantasy world in which he alone shares a special connection with the last of these noble birds, held at a conservation centre on the island of Sado.

His conclusion is simple: it is his destiny to free the birds from a society that does not appreciate them, by whatever means necessary. With his emotional state becoming ever more erratic, he begins sourcing weapons and preparing for a reckoning in this darkly ironic study of toxic masculinity.

A fast-paced, darkly ironic novella from one of Japan’s contemporary luminaries—and the husband of Mieko Kawakami—making his English language debut

A teenager gripped by…

A madcap, darkly comic novel about the strange fate of a tone-deaf girl who just wants to sing, from a Japanese literary star

“Abe's superpower is to transform everything he touches into exciting literature.” — Kotaru Isaka, author of Bullet Train

This surreal, twisty novel presents a provocative portrayal of sibling competition and the exploitation of social outcasts.

Shiori knows at heart that she’s a troubadour. She may be completely tone-deaf, but she won’t let that stop her living a life dedicated to music. Even when her dominant older sister, Nozomi, forces Shiori to accept that her wild singing provokes only revulsion, she decides to forge a career as a lyricist instead.

At eighteen, she moves to Tokyo to pursue her dream. Isolated and struggling in this unfamiliar city, Shiori seeks connection online, where her trusting outlook leaves her vulnerable to exploitation – with potentially explosive results.

This page-turning literary fiction from a Japanese star is perfect for fans of the wild worlds and unforgettable creations of Mieko Kawakami and Sayaka Murata.

A madcap, darkly comic novel about the strange fate of a tone-deaf girl who just wants to sing, from a Japanese literary star

“Abe's superpower is to transform everything he…

A witty, dizzying literary caper about books, travel, and translation — perfect for fans of David Mitchell and the work of Hideaki Anno

This delightfully surreal novella follows the global pursuit of a mysterious writer who somehow writes in dozens of languages.

An affluent entrepreneur named A.A. Abrams sinks seemingly infinite resources into the global pursuit of a writer about whom very little is known. Abrams’ target, known as “Tomoyuki Tomoyuki,” moves from one place to another, producing work in the local language before moving on to another part of the world.

But how does Tomoyuki Tomoyuki move from one language to the next with such ease? Agents employed by the Abrams Institute attempt to make sense of the writer’s erratic movements and baffling writing habits, but come to find that within each puzzle is yet another puzzle, waiting to be unraveled. One puzzle leads to another in this delightful literary caper.

A witty, dizzying literary caper about books, travel, and translation — perfect for fans of David Mitchell and the work of Hideaki Anno

This delightfully surreal novella…

Two cult-favorite Japanese artists present eerie graphic adaptations of 9 classic Kafka short stories, with hypnotic illustrations that will appeal to fans of Junji Ito

Franz Kafka’s work is given vivid new life in this collection of manga adaptations of 9 of his greatest stories.

With spectacularly detailed, otherworldly illustrations, the brother-and-sister duo known as Nishioka Kyodai create a haunting, claustrophobic visual world for Kafka’s surreal masterpieces.

Features adapted versions of:
The Metamorphosis
A Hunger Artist
In the Penal Colony
A Country Doctor
The Concerns of a Patriarch
The Bucket Rider
Jackals and Arabs
A Fratricide
The Vulture

Among the standouts are "The Metamorphosis" and "A Hunger Artist," which present absorbing moments for their unique art style to offer vivid entry points into Kafka's world and which take the immersion experi

Two cult-favorite Japanese artists present eerie graphic adaptations of 9 classic Kafka short stories, with hypnotic illustrations that will appeal to fans of Junji Ito

Franz…