The Nakano Thrift Shop - Softcover

Hiromi Kawakami

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846276004 ISBN 13: 9781846276002

Publisher: Portobello Books Ltd, 2016

Synopsis

When Hitomi takes a job on the cash register of a neighbourhood thrift store, she finds herself drawn into a very idiosyncratic community. There is Mr Nakano, an enigmatic ladies' man with several ex-wives; Masayo, Mr Nakano's sister, an artist who has never married; and her fellow employee Takeo, a shy but charming young man. Every day, customers from the neighbourhood pass in and out as curios are bought and sold, each one containing its own surprising story. When Hitomi and Takeo begin to fall for one another, they find themselves in the centre of their own drama - and on the edges of many others. A tender and affecting exploration of the mystery that lurks in the ordinary, this novel traces the seemingly imperceptible threads that weave together a community, and the knots that bind us to one another.

About this title

Review

'Subtle, graceful, wise, and threaded on a quirky humour, this exploration of the connections and disconnections between people kept me smiling long after the last page' -- Julia Rochester

'One for the holiday suitcase' -- Vogue

'Charming' -- Cathy Rentzenbrink, Stylist

'The Nakano Thrift Shop is really a love story, albeit a very offbeat one... A gentle book, full of charm [and] radiating leftfield charisma'

'The delightful nature of the story comes from the magic of the ordinary and the everyday goings on in the shop owned by the enigmatic Mr Nakano.' -- i paper

'The ever-readable, ebulliently-imaginative Japanese novelist burst the four small walls of Nakano-san's bric-a-brac shop with this tale of unusual, unrelated but inextricably intertwined characters.' -- Monocle magazine

'A novel about identity, loneliness and about non-conformism. With Kawakami's writing raising questions about sex and identity it is no surprise that her novels are so popular in structured, and often formal, Japan. This is a great novel and a highly accessible introduction to Japanese fiction.' -- Words Shortlist blog

'Kawakami is one of Japan's most popular contemporary novelists and, thanks to Allison Mark Powell's translation, we get to enjoy this meanderings and innocent novel... A tenderly handled mystery and a fractured love story. Delightful' -- Press Association

'Highly enjoyable and surprisingly accessible. Significant praise should be given to Allison Markin Powell's excellent work in translating the book' -- Sleepless Editor blog

'Written in quietly understated prose infused with a gentle humour, Kawakami's novel is an absolute delight. The four principle characters are wonderfully drawn - eccentric, idiosyncratic and thoroughly engaging. [...] I loved it - a welcome antidote to the twenty-four-hour misery cycle that is our news at the moment, and a reminder that joy can be found in the most prosaic of lives.' -- A Life in Books blog

'Hitomi takes in her town's characters and dramas - and finds love - from behind the cash register.' -- Grazia

'A charming read from the bestselling Japanese author Hiromi Kawakami' --Good Housekeeping

About the Author

Born in 1959 in Tokyo, HIROMI KAWAKAMI is one of Japan's most popular contemporary novelists, and was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1996. Her novel Strange Weather in Tokyo was shortlisted for both the Man Asia Literary Prize and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and has been translated into thirteen languages.

ALLISON MARKIN POWELL is a literary translator and editor in New York City. Her translations include works by Osamu Dazai, Fuminori Nakamura, and Kanako Nishi, and she was the guest editor for the first Japan issue of Words Without Borders. She maintains the database, Japanese Literature in English, at http://www.japaneseliteratureinenglish.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Portobello Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1846276004
• ISBN 13: 9781846276002
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256