An award-winning novel from one of Japan's most exciting literary voices: a short, simple and touching story of an unlikely love that blossoms across generations, and between seasons
Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to her former high school teacher, 'Sensei', in a bar. He is at least thirty years her senior, retired and, she presumes, a widower.
After this initial encounter, the pair continue to meet occasionally to share food and drink sake, and as the seasons pass - from spring cherry blossom to autumnal mushrooms - Tsukiko and Sensei come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love.
Strange Weather in Tokyo is perfectly constructed, warmly funny and deeply moving.
Long-listed for Man Asian Literary Prize 2013 (UK)
Enchanting, moving and funny in equal measure, this compelling love story is expertly crafted against a backdrop of modern Japanese culture... I [was] captivated... Stylish and unsentimental, a perfect love story * Stylist *
I'm hooked... It's interesting enough to read about an aging woman drawn to an older man; when this attraction comes wrapped up in Japanese nostalgia for old fashioned inns, mushroom hunting, refined manners, and Basho, how can a person resist? I can only imagine what wizardry must have gone into Allison Markin Powell's translation -- Lorin Stein Paris Review
Kawakami transforms an affecting cross-generational romance into an exquisite poem of time and mutability.... Delicate and haunting -- Boyd Tonkin Independent
This short, quirky love story has a very distinctive, very Japanese sensibility... Allison Markin Powell's translation is clear and graceful -- Brandon Robshaw * Independent on Sunday ***
A dream-like spell of a novel, full of humour, sadness, warmth and tremendous subtlety. I read this in one sitting and I think it will haunt me for a long time -- Amy Sackville
A subtle and haunting portrait... Kawakami's prose is warm and often humorous. Allison Markin Powell's masterful translation conveys a deceptively effortless, understated delicacy and dream-like tone. Often enchanting but ultimately heart-breaking, this is an unforgettable evocation of love and loneliness -- Alev Adil, Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Judge
Kawakami paints perfectly the lightness and delicacy of modern Tokyo, delivering a love story that breaks hearts Monocle
An elegiac sense of speeding time, and yawning distance, drizzles the story - sensitively translated by Allison Markin Powell - with a sweet sadness -- Boyd Tonkin Independent
In quiet, nature-infused prose that stresses both characters' solitude, Kawakami subtly captures the cyclic patterns of loneliness while weighing the definition of love Booklist
Expertly translated by Allison Markin Powell, this is a beautifully understated love story, a novel of sadness, longing and gentle humour A Life in Books blog
A book of breathtaking delicacy Télérama
One of the most beautiful love stories I have read in all my life... Read it and enjoy La Vanguardia
In equal measures profound and exhilarating Westdeutsche Zeitung
Charming and understated... acutely observed and surprisingly involving. A delicious read Hull Daily Mail
A charming, understated story, played out against Japan's seasonal extremes. Acutely observed, it's a delicious read Gloucestershire Echo
Beautifully written Farmlane Books
A beautifully-written and moving novel, expertly and sensitively translated by Allison Markin Powell January in Japan blog
Kawakami crafts an eerie inter-generational romance -- Boyd Tonkin Independent
An extraordinary novella... It is gentle, wise and written in such a hypnotic style it casts a spell upon the reader. Deeply haunting and strangely moving -- Kim Forrester Reading Matters blog
As well as being a sweet love story and an exploration of loneliness, [it] is packed with nostalgic Japanese atmosphere Bath Life
A funny, ethereal and above all heartfelt love story Freight Books blog
A quiet and understated novel... Highly recommended for fans of quirky and contemporary translated fiction or Japanese culture A Little Blog of Books
True love is celebrated with humour, grace and pathos as the wary narrator recalls her unusual approach to dealing with an overwhelming passion -- Eileen Battersby Irish Times
Beautifully written... It has a dreamlike quality and left me with a great love for the characters -- Judith Ayles Newbooks Magazine *
HIROMI KAWAKAMI is one of Japan's most popular contemporary novelists. She is the recipient of the Pascal Short Story Prize for New Writers, the Akutagawa Prize, the Ito Sei Literature Award, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize and the Joryu Bungaku Sho (Women Writers' Prize). Strange Weather in Tokyo won the Tanizaki prize, was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, and has been translated into thirteen languages.
ALLISON MARKIN POWELL is a literary translator and editor in New York City. She has translated works by Osamu Dazai, Kaho Nakayama, and Motoyuki Shibata, and was the guest editor for the first Japan issue of Words Without Borders.
This item is eligible for simple returns within 30 days of delivery. Return shipping is the responsibility of the customer. See our returns policy for further details.
