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Reading Guide
Jun 08, 2021 | ISBN 9780143136026 Pre-Order
Jun 08, 2021 | ISBN 9780525507642 Pre-Order
Jun 08, 2021 | 450 Minutes Pre-Order
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Available from:
Jun 08, 2021 | ISBN 9780143136026
Jun 08, 2021 | ISBN 9780525507642
Jun 08, 2021 | ISBN 9780593410790
450 Minutes
A bestselling, prizewinning novel of obsession and psychological intrigue about two enigmatic unmarried women, one of whom manipulates the other from afar, by one of Japan’s most acclaimed young writersI think what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been wanting to become friends with the Woman in the Purple Skirt for a very long time… Almost every afternoon, the Woman in the Purple Skirt sits on the same park bench, where she eats a cream bun while the local children make a game of trying to get her attention. Unbeknownst to her, she is being watched–by the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, who is always perched just out of sight, monitoring which buses she takes, what she eats, whom she speaks to. From a distance the Woman in the Purple Skirt looks like a schoolgirl, but there are age spots on her face, and her hair is dry and stiff. She is single, she lives in a small apartment, and she is short on money–just like the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, who lures her to a job as a housekeeper at a hotel, where she too is a housekeeper. Soon the Woman in the Purple Skirt is having an affair with the boss, and all eyes are on her. But no one knows or cares about the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. That’s the difference between her and the Woman in the Purple Skirt. Studiously deadpan and chillingly voyeuristic, The Woman in the Purple Skirt explores envy, loneliness, power dynamics, and the vulnerability of unmarried women in a taut, suspenseful narrative about the sometimes desperate desire to be seen.
“I’m a sucker for tales about female friendships that slide into obsession . . . Not just another cheap thriller with a ‘you can’t trust anyone’ conceit, Imamura’s latest is like Anita Brookner’s Look at Me, reimagined by a surrealist.” ―Hillary Kelly, Vulture“Very powerful . . . Meticulous and extremely precise . . . Reading this book made me feel like I was in an unstable and strange world.” ―Sayaka Murata, bestselling author of Convenience Store Woman“Imamura definitely has a rare talent for depicting people who are a little out of the ordinary. . . . By the time I got to the end, a powerful sense of the narrator’s loneliness forcing its way through the madness gripped my heart.” ―Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police “Reading this novel, you can really hear Natsuko Imamura’s unique voice, which comes across quite unsparingly and beautifully.” ―Hiromi Kawakami, author of Strange Weather in Tokyo and The Nakano Thrift Shop “A superb story . . . I was mesmerized by this narrator. Unlikeable men who hold our sympathy are frequently found in fiction, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a woman as unappealing as this one who still managed to keep me completely beguiled.” ―Shuichi Yoshida, author of Villain “Readable and entertaining . . . It’s as if a mirage appeared and then suddenly disappeared. . . . A mysterious novel.” ―Shukan Shincho “Horrifying, humorous, whimsical, and disturbing . . . It will remain with you.” ―Tokyo Shimbun
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