Best Seller

When the Museum Is Closed

Name: When the Museum Is Closed
Price: 18.95 USD
Availability: PreOrder
Author: Emi Yagi
ISBN: 9781593768270

Paperback $18.95

Available on Jan 27, 2026 | 256 Pages

Preorder from:

$18.95

Available on Jan 27, 2026 | 256 Pages

Preorder from:

A quirky, joyful, feel-good love story about a lonely museum worker who falls in love with a statue of Venus, from the author of international bestseller Diary of a Void

Rika Horauchi’s new part-time job is to converse with a statue of Venus—in Latin—every Monday, when the museum is closed.

Initially reluctant, Rika starts to enjoy her strange new job. Recommended by her old university professor for her exemplary language skills, Rika leads an otherwise unassuming life, working the rest of the week in a frozen-food warehouse. As Venus comes to life in the quiet of the museum, they talk about everything. Venus opens up new worlds for Rika, both intellectually and emotionally. They soon fall in love. But when the museum’s curator, Hashibami, makes it clear he wants to keep Venus for himself, what will Rika do?

When the Museum is Closed is by turns charming, funny and surprising, a surreal take on our most real emotions and concerns: love, loneliness, freedom, perceptions of beauty and how women are seen in society. This uncommonly original new novel confirms Emi Yagi as one of the most exciting Japanese writers published in English today.

“When the Museum is Closed is a dreamlike take on desire, loneliness, and the transformative power of being perceived by others.” —Linnea Gradin, Electric Literature

“As a slim novella, When the Museum Is Closed might seem initially spare but it’s rife with insights on language, communication, love, identity, definitions of beauty, gender roles, and the possibility of true individual freedom.” —Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“[Its] gentle surrealism nevertheless exposes truths about loneliness, beauty, and queer love . . . Fans of Kevin Wilson’s Nothing to See Here will appreciate Yagi’s blend of dark humor and empathy for her characters, while the unconventional love story may appeal to fans of Sky Daddy, by Kate Folk or Blob, by Maggie Su.” —Booklist

“Yagi’s characters and the world they inhabit are as inimitably charming as they are whimsical. Through them, the author explores weightier themes like loneliness, love, sexuality, and the meaning of art with flair, zest, and a refreshing touch of the surreal. A magical love story couched in absurdist fabulism.” —Kirkus Reviews

When the Museum Is Closed

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By Emi YagiTranslated by Yuki Tejima