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Dec 05, 2017 | ISBN 9781782272717 Buy
Dec 05, 2017 | ISBN 9781782272724 Buy
Also available from:
Available from:
Dec 05, 2017 | ISBN 9781782272717
Dec 05, 2017 | ISBN 9781782272724
The Akutagawa Prize-winning stories from one of the most highly regarded and provocative contemporary Japanese writers: part of our Japanese novella series, showcasing the best contemporary Japanese writing.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.
“A supersurreal triad of stories. . . Kawakami marks the literary map of Japan with a warning that beyond here lie dragons—or snakes and ghosts, at any rate. Astonishing, strange, and wonderful. ” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Fans of Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto will enjoy immersing themselves in Kawakami’s magical worlds.” — Booklist“the author successfully juxtaposes elements of contemporary Japan — in Kawakami’s case, postmodern Japan, with its high-rise apartment buildings, highway service areas, radio stock market reports, and advertising jingles blaring from parade-float loudspeakers — with myths and folklore that gesture toward a lost, pre-modern imaginary.” —Los Angeles Review of Books“Talking animals, transformations into trees and horses, and a melancholic mood of loss and love make it easy to see why Kawakami is one of the more exciting voices in contemporary Japanese literature.” — Thrillist“A truly fantastical story…rewards with rich imagery that will challenge anyone’s powers of imagination.” — Japan Society Journal (UK)“At once funny and humane. . . the author’s estranging fiction is bewitching. If Japan were in need of a Lewis Carroll, look no further.” — South China Morning Post“Baffling, unsettling and haunting, these stories have a dreamlike atmosphere.” — The Lady (UK Magazine)“A truly fantastical story… rewards with rich imagery that will challenge anyone’s powers of imagination.” — Japan Society Magazine
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