Spring Garden

“Like a good meditation: quiet, surprising and deeply satisfying.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Atmospheric, meditative story of memory and loss in a gentrifying Tokyo neighborhood . . . An elegant story that is in many ways more reminiscent of Mishima and Akutagawa than many contemporary Japanese writers.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki looks at loneliness and loss with uncommon detail and understated force . . . Shibasaki’s minimalist language comes across with poetic sensibility. Every word matters in this unflinching and quietly powerful novella . . . a brief, exquisitely crafted story of human connection in a contemporary, alienating society.”
—Shelf Awareness for Readers, starred review

“Measured, understated and poetic at the right moment . . . making the novel difficult to put down.”
—Japan Society Journal (UK)

“[A] delicate, intimate novella.”
—The Lady magazine