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Strange Weather in Tokyo

A Novel

By Hiromi Kawakami

List Price: $16.95

November 14, 2017 | Paperback | 5.5 x 8.25, 192 pages | ISBN 9781640090163
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Short-listed for the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize, Strange Weather in Tokyo is a story of loneliness and love that defies age. Tsukiko, thirty-eight, works in an office and lives alone. One night, she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, “Sensei,” in a local bar. Tsukiko had only ever called him “Sensei” (“Teacher”). He is thirty years her senior, retired, and presumably a widower. Their relationship develops from a perfunctory acknowledgment of each other as they eat and drink alone at the bar, to a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love.

About Hiromi Kawakami

Bestselling author HIROMI KAWAKAMI’s acclaim for her essays, stories, and novels include the Pascal Short Story Prize for New Writers and the Akutagawa Prize. Her novel Strange Weather in Tokyo was short-listed for the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize and the 2014 International Foreign Fiction Prize. Manazuru won the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission prize. She lives in Japan, where she taught biology and is a member of the Science Fiction Research Association.

Praise

“Simply and earnestly told, this is a profound exploration of human connection and the ways love can be found in surprising new places.” —BuzzFeed

“A sweet and poignant story of love and loneliness . . . A beautiful introductory book to Kawakami’s distinct style.” —Book Riot

“Each chapter of the book is like a haiku, incorporating seasonal references to the moon, mushroom picking and cherry blossoms. The chapters are whimsical and often melancholy, but humor is never far away. It is a celebration of friendship, the ordinary and individuality and a rumination on intimacy, love and loneliness. I cannot recommend Strange Weather in Tokyo enough, which is also a testament to the translator who has skillfully retained the poetry and beauty of the original.” —The Japan Society

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