Now You’re One of Us
Review I have found a true Japanese gothic horror and I am head over heels in love! Now You're One of Us is the story of a young woman that…
Hardboiled & Hard Luck
Review Hardboiled & Hard Luck is a collection of two novellas that share a theme of grief and loss. Both stories read like a gentle goodbye as each narrator explores…
In the Miso Soup
Review I'm beginning to think that I have an unhealthy obsession with Japanese thrillers, I've loved every single one that I have picked up so far. In the Miso Soup…
Confessions
Review How would you react if your child was murdered by two of your students? Yuko is a teacher that finds herself conflicted between her grief as a mother and…
Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse
Review Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse is perhaps one of the more experimental stories I've ever read. It is told from the point of view of Satsuki, a young girl…
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Review I had never watched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, but I tell you that show was everywhere in 2019, she is the undisputed queen of the minimalist home movement.…
Convenience Store Woman
Review Keiko is a convenience store worker and, to the people around her, a bit of an oddball. She has worked part-time at the same store for her entire adult…
Klara and the Sun
Review Klara and the Sun is a quiet little novel about an AI and the girl that brings her home. Klara is an AF, an artificial friend, programmed to serve…
Strange Weather in Tokyo
Review Strange Weather in Tokyo is a poignant love story that feels like the changing of the seasons. There is really something to admire about Kawakami's writing, the way she…
Life Ceremony
Review When I read Convenience Store Woman a few years ago I couldn't get enough of Murata's writing. I'm a big fan of short stories, so I was excited to…