“In Beautiful Distance, Nao-Cola Yamazaki untangles and illuminates, vividly and delicately, all of the unspoken emotions that exist between their characters. This novel moved me to tears.” —Hiromi Kawakami, Booker Award shortlisted author of Strange Weather in Tokyo
“Powerful . . . This heart-wrenching novel is quietly told but hits hard, moving through grief and acceptance as the narrator struggles to make sense of his experience . . . a beautiful read filled with devotion and wonder at life while also reflecting deep sorrow. Those who plan to read it should ensure they have tissues on hand.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Nao-Cola Yamazaki is a very special entity. Beautiful Distance is a remarkable story which assuaged my fear and my nerves and altered my view of life and death.” —Asako Yuzuki, internationally bestselling author of Butter
“Quiet and tender . . . Yamazaki’s restrained reflection on death shimmers with deep emotion below the surface. This will move readers.” —Publishers Weekly
“A gem of a book—tender, devastating, and beautifully written, it speaks of the experience of caring and love in their purest forms, in a way that touched me deeply. It will stay with me for a long time.” —Cecile Pin, Women’s Prize-longlisted author of Wandering Souls
“Yamazaki’s minimalist prose gorgeously captures a couple facing death, devotedly aware and yet distanced from each other . . . an eyes-wide-open meditation on grief and loss, assuaged by liminal moments of joy.” —Booklist
“Deftly unpack[s] intimacy, grief, and the poignancy of life’s quiet moments.” —Forbes
“Pitch perfect . . . tackles all the parts of a life bracing against oncoming grief, from the surprisingly deep relationships one has with one’s community, to the unforgiving grind of our corporate lives, and the possibility of happiness despite the specter of death. A breathtaking, soaring read.” —Lillian Li, Women’s Prize-longlisted author of Number One Chinese Restaurant
“Graceful…. Yamazaki is attuned to the differences between what we say we want from love and what it looks like in reality.”—The New York Times
“Writers often feel pressure to write something that encapsulates the world. To write something that stings us with these huge truths through complicated plot lines and narrative devices. But writing like Yamazaki’s proves that you can encapsulate the world in much smaller ways: maybe through two people attempting to find love, to find themselves through others. Or maybe through two people who have already found love and must prematurely grieve the other’s impending absence. Somehow, magically, wonderfully, Yamazaki is able to conjure entire universes dwelling in the space between two people . . . With softness, with care, Yamazaki breaks us and reforms us into better people, better readers through their creations.” —Full Stop Review
“A celebration of the small, everyday acts of kindness that make up the greatest romances, and a testament to the power of our dearest relationships to carry us all the way from our earliest days to our very last. Readers will cry, and smile, and hold their family close.” —Sarah Jessica Parker, SJP Lit
“An intimate exploration of grief through the lens of Japanese culture and a tender look at how love endures and transforms.” —Tokyo Weekender
“Simultaneously breaks your heart while reminding you how precious event moment is.”—Colorado Sun
