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Reading lists

The best Japanese fiction in translation

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The best books to hunker down with this autumn

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

A surge of Japanese women are redefining their nation's literature

Strange and beautiful. Imagine the offspring of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle with The Virgin Suicides

A moving, reflective and surprising novel... anyone who has ever struggled with feeling isolated, had difficulties at school, or had mental health struggles, will find this novel to be a cleansing balm.

Neat twists and a genuinely affecting denouement. A story of empathy, collaboration and sharing truths,  this is 'a modern, all-ages fairy tale' that should appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman and Studio Ghibli animations

There's a warmth to her writing, and Tsujimura has a mature ability to allow the story to speak for itself without narrative

An original and tender blend of social commentary and magical realism

For fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD, fairy tale and magic are weaved together in sparse language that belies a flooring emotional punch. 
 
'Strange and beautiful. Imagine the offspring of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle with The Virgin Suicides' GUARDIAN 
'Genuinely affecting. A story of empathy, collaboration and sharing truths' FINANCIAL TIMES 
 
Translated by Philip Gabriel, a translator of Murakami 
_______________________________ 
 
Would you share your deepest secrets to save a friend? 
 
In a tranquil neighbourhood of Tokyo, seven teenagers wake to find their bedroom mirrors are shining. 
 
At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives to a wondrous castle filled with winding stairways, watchful portraits and twinkling chandeliers. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But there's a catch: if they don't leave the castle by five o'clock, they will be punished. 
 
As time passes, a devastating truth emerges: only those brave enough to share their stories will be saved. 
 
Tender, playful, gripping, LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR is a mesmerizing tale about the importance of reaching out, confronting anxiety and embracing human connection. 
 
 
Readers love LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR: 
 
***** 'This book has become one of my favourite Japanese reads of all time . . . A magical heartfelt read that will stay with you' 
***** 'Unexpected, beautiful and heart-breaking . . . this is a work of fiction which reaches into the heart of a modern problem and has valuable insight' 
***** 'Rich and vivid.This book is a symbol that 'there is always hope'

How to Hold Someone in your Heart

PICK UP YOUR NEXT READ FOR FANS OF LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR and BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD - the story of a young man with special powers to connect the living with the afterlife. 
 
The bestselling companion read to LOST SOULS MEET UNDER A FULL MOON 
Over 1.2 million copies sold in the series 
 
Readers adore it: 
‘Warms your heart’ ***** 
‘I can’t express how good this is. Made me feel the weight of human life’ ***** 
‘The relationship with the dead, the messengers, the clients, and the existence of fate – it all felt so intimate to me’ ***** 
'As good as the first book'***** 
_____ 
Ayumi is a young man with special powers to bring back the dead to meet the living. 
A gift passed down in his family, he is able to arrange meetings according to strict rules and always under a full moon. After years in this role, he begins to question its meaning, and how his powers affect his own desires in the real world. Meanwhile, he helps out five characters: 
 
-A young film star finds resolution with the father who abandoned him, but not as he expected; 
- An amateur historian is obsessed to meet a minor warlord of the sixteenth century; 
-Ayumi anxiously juggles two meetings on the same evening, both have lost their daughters; 
-A former cook, whose request to visit an upper-class young woman in the afterlife has been repeatedly rejected, is finally granted his wish. 
 
Find out how Ayumi and his clients learn to lose their regrets, open up to the unexpected, and cherish what they already have in this profound and moving novel by Japan's leading storyteller. 
_____ 
 
Now read: LOST SOULS MEET UNDER A FULL MOON

Mizuki Tsujimura (Author) MIZUKI TSUJIMURA is the much-loved author of million-copy-bestselling mystery and puzzlebox novels. Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon explores our relationship with the memories of deceased loved ones and what gives our lives meaning. It was made into a high-budget Japanese-language film and won a newcomer award. Its sequel, How to Hold Someone in Your Heart, was also a huge bestseller, cementing the appeal of Tsujimura’s unique combination of emotion, mystery and magic. She is the author of the groundbreaking novel Lonely Castle in the Mirror, which was also adapted for anime and manga and which combines real-world fantasy with important themes of mental health and friendship. Tsujimura has won many awards, including the Japan Booksellers' Award and the Naoki Prize, and is published worldwide. English-language editions of many of her works, including True Mothers and Arrogance and Virtue (now a major Japanese-language) are due to be published soon. Yuki Tejima (Translator) Yuki Tejima is the translator of Mizuki Tsujimura’s Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon and How to Hold Someone in Your Heart, Kumi Kimura’s Someone to Watch Over You, and the sequel to Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s bestselling memoir, Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window 2. She moved from the US to Tokyo, where she now lives.

PICK UP YOUR NEXT READ FOR FANS OF LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR and BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD - the story of a young man with special powers to connect the living with the afterlife. 
 
The bestselling companion read to LOST SOULS MEET UNDER A FULL MOON 
Over 1.2 million copies sold in the series 
 
Readers adore it: 
‘Warms your heart’ ***** 
‘I can’t express how good this is. Made me feel the weight of human life’ ***** 
‘The relationship with the dead, the messengers, the clients, and the existence of fate – it all felt so intimate to me’ ***** 
'As good as the first book'***** 
_____ 
Ayumi is a young man with special powers to bring back the dead to meet the living. 
A gift passed down in his family, he is able to arrange meetings according to strict rules and always under a full moon. After years in this role, he begins to question its meaning, and how his powers affect his own desires in the real world. Meanwhile, he helps out five characters: 
 
-A young film star finds resolution with the father who abandoned him, but not as he expected; 
- An amateur historian is obsessed to meet a minor warlord of the sixteenth century; 
-Ayumi anxiously juggles two meetings on the same evening, both have lost their daughters; 
-A former cook, whose request to visit an upper-class young woman in the afterlife has been repeatedly rejected, is finally granted his wish. 
 
Find out how Ayumi and his clients learn to lose their regrets, open up to the unexpected, and cherish what they already have in this profound and moving novel by Japan's leading storyteller. 
_________ 
 
Now read: LOST SOULS MEET UNDER A FULL MOON

Mizuki Tsujimura

Yuki Tejima

A beautifully written novel about hope and kindness, unfashionable perhaps in its simple positive message and all the better for it

Displaying a matter-of-fact approach to the fantastical that recalls early Haruki Murakami, Tsujimura’s novel is an enchanting read

THE UNFORGETTABLE MILLION-COPY JAPANESE BESTSELLER BY THE AUTHOR OF LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR 
 
'Recalls early Murakami. An enchanting read' Financial Times 
____________ 
Readers are obsessed: 
'Every word resonated in my heart' ***** Reader review' 
'Perfect for anyone who loves to think deeply about what they have just read' ***** Reader review 
'Makes you ponder about death and about life' ***** Reader review 
 
Brimming with suspense and heartbreak, the million-copy Japanese fantasy mystery for fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD and LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR 
______________ 
 
Is there anyone from the afterlife you wish to see? 
 
So asks the smart young man, Ayumi, to his clients who have come to him for a reunion with the person who once changed their life. 
 
But it is no ordinary reunion The people they ask to see have passed away. 
 
Calling himself the go-between, Ayumi lays down strict rules around the meetings between the living and the dead: the deceased cannot have been summoned by anyone else; they may refuse; and they must meet under a full moon. 
 
- Anxious Hirase asks to see the celebrity who showed her kindness at a critical moment; 
- An resentful family man wants clarity about a will from his beloved mother; 
- After a bike accident, a school girl has a question for her former best friend; 
- A salary man wants to ask the only woman he ever loved what caused her to run away. 
 
With each reunion, tantalizing clues are scattered for readers to piece together the emotional truth behind the go-between. 
 
A runaway bestseller in Japan, Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is storytelling at its finest, from an international sensation whose work has been hailed as 'strange and beautiful' (Guardian). With an artful balance of heart and mystery, Mizuki Tsujimura creates an unforgettable page-turner in which the living and the dead are given one last chance for closure. 
 
Who would you like to see? 
_______ 
 
Watch out for HOW TO HOLD SOMEONE IN YOUR HEART, the sequel to LOST SOULS MEET UNDER A FULL MOON coming soon. 
 
Supported by the Japan Foundation 
 
First published in Japan under the title TSUNAGU or GO-BETWEEN

Mizuki Tsujimura

Praise for Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon

A beautifully written novel about hope and kindness, unfashionable perhaps in its simple positive message and all the better for it

Displaying a matter-of-fact approach to the fantastical that recalls early Haruki Murakami, Tsujimura’s novel is an enchanting read

Books by Mizuki Tsujimura

Articles featuring Mizuki Tsujimura

The best Japanese fiction in translation

The best books to hunker down with this autumn

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