Mieko Kawakami

'Promises to be one of the most talked-about novels of the year.' Financial Times 'Breathtaking' Haruki Murakami, author of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle 'Radical' Katie Kitamura, author of A Separation 'Uncommon precision' Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police 'Bold, modern and surprising' An Yu, author of Braised Pork 'Incredible and propulsive' Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times On a hot summer's day in a poor suburb of Tokyo we meet three women: thirty-year-old Natsu, her older sister Makiko, and Makiko's teenage daughter Midoriko. Makiko, an ageing hostess despairing the loss of her looks, has travelled to Tokyo in search of breast enhancement surgery. She's accompanied by Midoriko, who has recently stopped speaking, finding herself unable to deal with her own changing body and her mother's self-obsession. Her silence dominates Natsu's rundown apartment, providing a catalyst for each woman to grapple with their own anxieties and their relationships with one another. Eight years later, we meet Natsu again. She is now a writer and find herself on a journey back to her native city, returning to memories of that summer and her family's past as she faces her own uncertain future. In Breasts and Eggs Mieko Kawakami paints a radical and intimate portrait of contemporary working class womanhood in Japan, recounting the heartbreaking journeys of three women in a society where the odds are stacked against them. This is an unforgettable full length English language debut from a major new international talent.

On a hot summer's day in a poor suburb of Tokyo we meet three women: thirty-year-old Natsuko, her older sister Makiko, and Makiko's teenage daughter Midoriko. Makiko, an ageing hostess despairing the loss of her looks, has travelled to Tokyo in search of breast enhancement surgery. She's accompanied by Midoriko, who has recently stopped speaking, finding herself unable to deal with her own changing body and her mother's self-obsession. Her silence dominates Natsuko's rundown apartment, providing a catalyst for each woman to grapple with their own anxieties and their relationships with one another. Eight years later, we meet Natsuko again. She is now a writer and find herself on a journey back to her native city, returning to memories of that summer and her family's past as she faces her own uncertain future. In Breasts and Eggs Mieko Kawakami paints a radical and intimate portrait of contemporary working class womanhood in Japan, recounting the heartbreaking journeys of three women in a society where the odds are stacked against them. This is an unforgettable full length English language debut from a major new international talent. 'Bold, modern and surprising' - An Yu, author of Braised Pork 'Incredible and propulsive' - Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times

From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs and international literary sensation Mieko Kawakami, comes a sharp and illuminating novel about a fourteen-year-old boy subjected to relentless bullying. In Heaven, a fourteen-year old boy is tormented for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, he chooses to suffer in silence. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate, Kojima, who experiences similar treatment at the hands of her bullies. Providing each other with immeasurable consolation at a time in their lives when they need it most, the two young friends grow closer than ever. But what, ultimately, is the nature of a friendship when your shared bond is terror? Unflinching yet tender, sharply observed, intimate and multi-layered, this simple yet profound novel stands as yet another dazzling testament to Mieko Kawakami's uncontainable talent. There can be little doubt that it has cemented her reputation as one of the most important young authors at work today. 'An expertly told, deeply unsettling tale of adolescent violence' - Vogue Translated from the Japanese by David Boyd and Sam Bett.

From international literary sensation Mieko Kawakami comes All The Lovers In The Night, an extraordinary, deeply moving and insightful story set in contemporary Tokyo. Fuyuko Irie is a freelance proofreader in her thirties. Living alone, and unable to form meaningful relationships, she has little contact with anyone other than Hijiri, someone she works with. When she sees her reflection, she's confronted with a tired and spiritless woman who has failed to take control of her own life. Her one source of solace: light. Every Christmas Eve, Fuyuko heads out to catch a glimpse of the lights that fill the Tokyo night. But it is a chance encounter with a man named Mitsutsuka that awakens something new in her. And so her life begins to change. As Fuyuko starts to see the world in a different light, painful memories from her past begin to resurface. Fuyuko needs to be loved, to be heard, and to be seen. But living in a small world of her own making, will she find the strength to bring down the walls that surround her? All The Lovers In The Night is acute and insightful, entertaining and captivating, pulsing and poetic, modern and shocking. It's another unforgettable novel from Japan's most exciting writer. Translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd.

Co byste dělali, kdyby vám rodiče jednoho dne řekli, že nejste jejich syn, že jste byl počat ve zkumavce a donošen v cizí děloze? Srovnáte se s identitou člověka bez minulosti? A co když jste stále mladá, ale už zdaleka ne nejmladší žena – bez partnera, bez vidiny rodinného štěstí, o mateřství ani nemluvě? A jako na potvoru jste sice šťastně single, ale také bez chuti na sex a zmítaná nezvladatelnou touhou po dítěti… Po celosvětovém úspěchu románu Prsa a vajíčka se k českým čtenářům dostává příběh, který vypráví nejen o etických dilematech a rozčarováních, rodinných poutech a rozkolech, ale také o (ne)porozumění vlastnímu tělu, jeho potřebám a smyslu. Haruki Murakami o knize řekl: Nikdy nezapomenu na pocit naprostého úžasu, když jsem dílo poprvé četl.

Mieko Kawakami, autorka bestselleru Prsa a vajíčka, je považována za nejvýraznější japonskou spisovatelku současnosti. Za román Nebe získala japonské literární ocenění (Cenu Murasaki Šikibu) a dostala se do nejužšího výběru na Mezinárodní Bookerovu cenu (2022). Protagonistu a zároveň vypravěče románu, čtrnáctiletého středoškoláka, poznává čtenář pod přezdívkou Šilhavec, kterou mu dali spolužáci. Kvůli tomu je také ve škole objektem šikany. Chlapec mlčky v osamění trpí, dokud nenaváže přátelství se spolužačkou Kodžimovou – ta jediná dokáže pochopit, co prožívá, protože je rovněž terčem šikany. Svět osamělého, do sebe uzavřeného chlapce se rázem změní, když má možnost sdílet své trápení, diskutovat o důvodech šikany, morálce šikanujících, ale i obětí. Kodžimová Šilhavce přiměje, aby se zamýšlel nad vlastní pasivitou tváří v tvář násilí, a přisuzuje morální převahu, ba i jisté vítězství těm, kdo se stávají oběťmi.