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This is unlike anything I‘ve ever read before. It‘s so unique and cool and fun to read. I would recommend this to genuinely anyone. I love the mix of the whimsical with quick glances into peoples lives. I loved all the stories

Surreal, interlinking short “palm-of-the-hand” stories accrue to create portrait of a community. Transformation. Ghosts. Naughty shadows. Doll brains. Animals. Fairy tales and magic wishes. Stinky white dove princes. A sudden lack of gravitational force. Stories set up expectations & deliver the opposite. Funny vignettes, a bit empty? P7 “There‘s a hell, the old man said, for people who are mean to chickens.” Solid translation by Ted Goossen, 2021

This collection of connected stories was a delight to read - bizarre, quirky, and very funny. Kawakami‘s matter of fact narrative style about the events in these stories made me laugh out loud.

@EvieBee I think your review put this book on my radar, so thank you! 😊

Bizarre but intriguing. 36 short vignettes all occurring within one neighborhood. I found myself re-reading some to refresh my memory on recurring characters.

The translator of this is Ted Goosen ( a Canadian and York university prof) and it‘s the quirkiest little book of interconnected short stories that range from sweet little vignettes to fantastical imaginings. I have taken my time reading this, it‘s light but I liked letting the more fantastic of the stories ramble about my brain. Also I love this cover and I liked having it out and about around my house

I love this cover

#BookReport 52/21

2021‘s last report. I have been holidaying so plenty of time to read. I enjoyed all of them except Firefly Lane (on audio).

The combination of Japan and such a cover 😍 was irresistible to me. The book is a collection of short stories about the strange and unique people that color this Japanese neighbourhood. Throw in some magical realism and you have a quick, fun but forgettable read.

What a weird, delightful little book of stories! I can‘t remember the last time I read a book chockful of magical realism. Kawakami wrote these interlinking stories with such a straight face that by the end I was halfway convinced that this town and its folk really did exist! Also, incredibly funny! Laugh out loud funny. #japan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was so fun and delightful! It gets more and more strange as it goes on - reminded me a bit of Little Weirds, by Jenny Slate. Loved it.

Perfect perfect perfect. 🍂

My Hiromi Kawakami fascination continues. This book was like if The House on Mango Street was set in Japan, but with magical realism. One of my favorite lines: "When the children found the mummified body, they thought it was either an old kite or someone's graduation art project."

A thin book filled with tiny stories, vignettes more or less, each one between two and five pages long. Each of them deals with one or more of the strange characters of the extraordinary neighbourhood the narrator lives in. An interesting concept - unfortunately, these didn't work for me. I liked the first few stories enough, but reading along, I found myself wondering „So what?“ or „What's the point?“ more and more frequently. ⬇

Lazy Sunday reading and cat napping!