The Nakano Thrift Shop
Hiromi Kawakami author Allison Markin Powell translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Granta Books
Published:1st Jun '17
Should be back in stock very soon
From the bestselling author of Strange Weather in Tokyo, here is a story of treasure hoarders, bargain hunters and would-be lovers. Among the jumble of paperweights, plates, typewriters and general bric-a-brac in Mr Nakano's thrift store, there are treasures to be found. Each piece carries its own story of love and loss - or so it seems to Hitomi, when she takes a job there. And her fellow employees are just as curious as the items they sell. There's the store's owner, Mr Nakano, an enigmatic ladies' man with several ex-wives; Sakiko, his sensuous, unreadable lover; his sister, Masayo, an artist whose free-spirited creations mask hidden sorrows. And finally there's Hitomi's fellow employee, Takeo, whose abrupt and taciturn manner Hitomi finds, to her consternation, increasingly disarming. A beguiling story of love found amid odds and ends, The Nakano Thrift Shop is a heart-warming and utterly charming novel from one of Japan's most celebrated contemporary novelists. 'A charming read' Good Housekeeping 'One for the holiday suitcase' Vogue
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, author * The House at the Edge of the World *
One for the holiday suitcase * Vogue.co.uk *
Charming -- Cathy Rentzenbrink * Stylist.co.uk *
The Nakano Thrift Shop is really a love story, albeit a very offbeat one... A gentle book, full of charm [and] radiating leftfield charisma -- Anna Fielding * Emerald Street *
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 *
Kawakami is one of Japan's most popular contemporary novelists and, thanks to the Allison Markin Powell's translation, we get to enjoy this meandering and innocent novel... A tenderly handled mystery and a fractured love story. Delightful -- Rachel Howdle * Press Association *
A charming read from the bestselling Japanese author Hiromi Kawakami * Good Housekeeping *
Hitomi takes in her town's characters and dramas - and finds love - from behind the cash register. * Grazia *
Highly enjoyable and surprisingly accessible. Significant praise should be given to Allison Markin Powell's excellent work in translating the book * Sleepless Editor *
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 *
Written in quietly understated prose infused with a gentle humour, Kawakami's novel is an absolute delight. The four principal characters are wonderfully driven - 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 *
ISBN: 9781846276026
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 15mm
Weight: 190g
256 pages