Genre: Fiction
-
1Q84
An ode to George Orwell’s “1984” told in alternating male and female voices relates the stories of Aomame, an assassin for a secret organization who discovers that she has been transported to an alternate reality, and Tengo, a mathematics lecturer and novice writer.
-
A personal matter.
-
A tale of false fortunes
-
Sanshiro
One of Soseki’s most beloved works of fiction, the novel depicts the 23-year-old Sanshiro leaving the sleepy countryside for the first time in his life to experience the constantly moving ‘real world’ of Tokyo, its women and university. In the subtle tension between our appreciation of Soseki’s lively humour and our awareness of Sanshiro’s doomed…
-
Speculative Japan : Outstanding tales of Japanese science fiction and fantasy
-
Lizard
Six short stories by a Japanese woman writer known for her unusual themes. In Blood and Water, a woman abandons the religious commune where she was raised, goes to the big city and finds another idol of worship, a charismatic lover. The story looks at the connection between spiritual and romantic fervor. By the author…
-
Palm-of-the-hand stories
-
Spring snow
Kiyoaki Matsugae’s passionate and ill-fated love for the betrothed daughter of a Tokyo aristocrat brings him into disfavor at the Imperial Court.
-
Quicksand
The voice is insistent, attractive, persuasive – the voice of a cultured Osaka lady, unfortunately widowed young. Sonoko Kakiuchi’s story, however, is unsettlingly at odds with her image. It is a tale of infatuation and deceit, of deliberate evil. Its theme is humiliation, its victim Sonoko’s mild-mannered lawyer husband. And at its center – seducing,…
-
The sea and poison.