A Perfect Day to Be Alone

“A young woman spends a year adrift in Aoyama’s elegant English-language debut…Aoyama adeptly conveys Chizu’s loneliness and how her unvoiced emotions drive her attempts to pull others into her misery. The result is a notable tale of arrested development.” —Publishers Weekly

“A delicate exploration of existential drift…rich in atmospheric detail…captures the nature of young adulthood with an immediacy and integrity that leads us to a liminal space, where the future looms uncertain…an evocative meditation on youth, aging, and all the spaces in between.” —Asymptote Journal

“A subtly moving meditation on aging, self-discovery, and how we relate to each other. The slim yet substantial novel is strikingly emotive in its simplicity…[Aoyama’s] masterful writing style slices away unnecessary words or descriptions, giving the novel an almost poetic feel to its language, and she has a keen eye for distilling the true essence of young adulthood.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A slim coming-of-age novel of understated beauty…Kirkwood translates Aoyama’s writing with subdued loveliness.” —Shelf Awareness

“A Perfect Day to Be Alone feels more true to life than most such first-steps-into-adulthood novels…a satisfying little melancholy tale.” —Complete Review

“Notably translated by Kirkwood, prolific, prize-winning Aoyama’s anglophone debut is a raw examination of contemporary young womanhood that underscores burdensome expectations, disappointing intimacy, and elusive connections.” —Booklist

“Droll…A voyeuristic record of a girl’s thorny settling in to someone else’s space, A Perfect Day to Be Alone is a sharp novella about a purposefully delayed coming-of-age.” —Foreword Reviews

“With a confident narrative voice and consistent tone, Aoyama’s Chizu lays out the events of a year alone, from her strikingly open and direct perspective.” —The Rumpus

“Funny and deeply moving…a fitting introduction to the writer, whose tight, understated prose renders the juncture between adolescence and adulthood with humorous authenticity and tender pain.” ―Japan Times

“A moving, poignant, and funny story about loneliness, coming-of-age, and the importance of connection and friendship. Filled with cats, trains, and miso soup, this novella is also a love letter to Tokyo, capturing the essence of youth in all its bittersweet glory.” ―nb. Magazine