Contemporary Literature
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Norwegian Wood |
Coin Locker Babies |
Torikaeko (The Changeling) |
| This short novel about a university student's romantic coming of age in the tumultuous 1960s sold 6 million copies and made Haruki Marukami a superstar in Japan--a status he's since gone on to enjoy worldwide. "Norwegian Wood is a love story in the true sense," says Murakami. "Tranquil, intense, and full of pathos." | Set in the not-too-distant future, Coin Locker Babies tells the story of Kiku and Hashi, two boys found abandoned in the lockers of Yokohama railway station. The battle between their contrasting characters--one homicidal, one sensitive and creative--plays itself out in a ruined, apocalyptic Tokyo and the ocean bed of the South Seas. | After the suicide of his brother-in-law Goro, Kogito goes on a soul-searching trip to Germany where he discovers clues about what drove Goro to kill himself. A moving tale revealing the hope that exists on the far side of sorrow by Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Literature. |
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Economical Palace |
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| A thirty-four-year-old woman drifting from one temp job to another is living with her unemployed boyfriend when she finds herself attracted to a much younger man. In this acclaimed work of fiction, Mitsuyo Kakuta paints a realistic portrait of young Japanese trying to make sense of their lives in an age of uncertainty. |
Entertainment
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Isshun no Kaze ni Nare (Run Like the Wind) |
Bonkura (Blockhead) |
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| Two sprinters join the rather ho-hum athletics squad at their high school, but their single-minded dedication to running ends up transforming both them and their teammates. This gripping and surprisingly moving three-volume tale was awarded the 2007 Japanese Booksellers' Award. (3 vols.) | Known overseas for realistic contemporary Japanese thrillers such as All She was Worth, Shadow Family, Crossfire and The Devil's Whisper, Miyabe takes us back to Edo-period Tokyo in Bonkura. There is a series of murders and disappearances in an old wooden house in the east end of the city. Can Heishiro Izutsu and the handsome young Yuminosuke get to the bottom of the mystery before it's too late? |
Mystery
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Out |
Mao (Prince of Darkness) |
Akai Yubi (Bloody Hands) |
| Natsuo Kirino's 1998 breakout crime novel tells the story of four women in dead-end factory jobs who together murder the abusive husband of one of their number. They do the deed--but will they be able to stick together and deal with its consequences? A gritty, well plotted and thoroughly convincing depiction of life on the lower rungs of Japanese society. | Inukai, a brilliant demagogue in the opposition party, is intent on winning power so he can establish a fascist government in Japan. But two brothers are equally determined to use their mysterious powers to thwart him in his attempt. A brilliant entertainment by Japan's hottest young novelist. | "It's only when you go beyond crime that you encounter the true darkness." Six years in the making, this thriller by Naoki Prize-winner Keigo Higashino features detective Kyoichiro Kaga from Nerima police station in Tokyo confronting the ugliest kind of crime of all: a family murder. But will he be able to pick his way through the lies to find the truth? |
Young Adult Fiction
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Juuni Kokuki (The Twelve Kingdoms) |
Faust "Illustory" Magazine |
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Translated into seven different languages, this smash-hit fantasy series has sold 5 million copies in Japan. It chronicles the adventures of Yoko, a schoolgirl who is suddenly transported to a different dimension. There she must use her new magic powers to save the twelve kingdoms from the grotesque beasts that menace them. (11 vols. ) |
Faust brings together the best of the manga, anime and light fiction worlds. Featuring the work of popular young writers like Nisioisin, Otaro Maijo and Kinoko Nasu, this novel magazine has already been published in Korea and Taiwan and is due for U.S. release soon.
(6 vols.)
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Classics
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Miyamoto Musashi (Musashi) |
Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) |
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| The classic novel based on the real-life exploits of the famous swordsman. Share Musashi's adventures and spiritual growth as he follows the way of the sword to eventually attain a perception that is "clear as a mirror." | Jakucho Setouchi has turned a timeless classic of Japanese literature into elegant modern prose. Not just a magnificent picture of court life, but also one of the world's great love stories, The Tale of Genji is now made accessible for the modern reader. (10 vols.) |