Japanische Literatur

Patrik, who sometimes calls himself "the patient," is a literary researcher living in present-day Berlin. The city is just coming back to life after lockdown, and his beloved opera houses are open again, but Patrik cannot leave the house and hardly manages to get out of bed. When he shaves his head, his girlfriend scolds him, "What have you done to your head? I don't want to be with a prisoner from a concentration camp!" He is supposed to give a paper at a conference in Paris, on the poetry collection Threadsuns by Paul Celan, but he can't manage to get past the first question on the registration form: "What is your nationality?" Then at a café (or in the memory of being at a café?), he meets a mysterious stranger. The man's name is Leo-Eric Fu, and somehow he already knows Patrik...In the spirit of imaginative homage like Roberto Bolaño's Monsieur Pain, Antonio Tabucchi's Requiem, and Thomas Bernhard's Wittgenstein's Nephew, Yoko Tawada's mesmerizing new novel unfolds like a lucid dream in which friendship, conversation, reading, poetry, and music are the connecting threads that bind us together.

A beautifully packaged hardback edition of Haruki Murakami's breakout hit, now with a new introduction by the author<BR><BR>When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past.<BR><BR>'Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around' Time Out

Toru Okada's cat has disappeared.His wife is growing more distant every day.Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving.As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.'Visionary...a bold and generous book' New York Times'Murakami weaves textured layers of reality into a shot-silk garment of deceptive beauty' Independent on Sunday'Deeply philosophical and teasingly perplexing, it is impossible to put down' Daily Telegraph'Mesmerising, surreal, this really is the work of a true original' The Times

Across a bridge in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, a seasonal cherry blossom sits on the river. Nearby is the Marble Cafe, where a woman writes in a notebook and a young waiter prepares her favorite hot drink. Both wonder about each other and about the other lives of the clientele who frequent this charming little cafe behind the trees...Without even realizing it, we may touch and change someone else's life.Taking a walk along the river, cooking the best tamagoyaki, ordering hot chocolate, forgetting to remove our nail polish... The small, everyday acts that we do can lead to unexpected encounters, reverberate far beyond our own circle, and ultimately make a difference in the world around us.Hot Chocolate on Thursday is a tapestry of slice-of-life moments that each open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe. What happens in between will touch and swell your heart, as we connect with a community of untold unfolding lives.Marble Cafe #1

'I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami'<BR>- Haruki Murakami<BR><BR>'The most exciting Japanese novelist at work today'<BR>- The Times<BR><BR>A heart-stopping story of teenage girls on the brink in 1990s Tokyo from the International Booker Prize-Shortlisted author of Heaven and Breasts and Eggs.<BR><BR>Hana has nothing but she's hopeful. She's fifteen years old. She lives in a tiny apartment in a suburb of Tokyo with her young mother, a hostess at a local dive bar. They have no money, no security. Then Kimiko appears.<BR><BR>Kimiko is older, a bright light in Hana's dark world. Together they set up Lemon, a bar that, despite its shabby setting and seedy clientele, becomes a haven for Hana. Suddenly Hana has a job she loves, friends to share her days with, and the glittering promise of money. She feels like a normal girl. She feels invincible.<BR><BR>But in the narrow alleys of Sangenjaya, nothing is as it seems. Soon all of Hana's hope, her optimism, and her drive, will be tested to the limit . . .<BR><BR>A story of enduring friendship and deep betrayal, Sisters in Yellow is a masterpiece of teenage dreams and adult cruelties that confirms Mieko Kawakami as one of the great writers of her generation.<BR><BR>'Relentlessly riveting . . . My heart felt very tender reading this'<BR>- Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face<BR><BR><BR>Readers love Sisters in Yellow:<BR><BR>'My new favourite book of ALL TIME. The ending absolutely destroyed me.'<BR><BR>'A powerful, emotionally charged exploration of friendship, survival and the quiet brutality of inequality'<BR><BR>'Mieko Kawakami doesn't need a high-speed chase to create tension; she lets a heavy, unsettling mood seep into the floorboards'<BR><BR>'Confirms Kawakami's place as one of the most vital voices in contemporary literature'<BR><BR>'The character building is second to none . . . Mieko Kawakami is a generational talent'<BR><BR>'This is Kawakami at her best. Not for a second does the pace let up.'

Kylie Lee Baker returns with another addictive, gory, horror PHENOMENON'A blood-soaked, masterful blend of horror and mystery' GUARDIAN'Blood-slicked, unsettling and immersive' DAILY MAIL'A lush, unnerving ghost story' NEW YORK TIMES'Brilliantly inventive. A must read - I couldn't turn the pages fast enough' MONIKA KIM'A haunted house horror with a samurai twist' IGN'Audacious, surreal . . . An exquisite expression of human pain held tight across centuries' LEIGH RADFORD2026Lee can't remember exactly where he hid the body, but he can remember the blood. Hiding out at his father's centuries-old home in Japan, Lee knows something is wrong with him, and he knows it has something to do with his mother's disappearance almost a decade ago.1877A female samurai, Sen, stalks the borders of her home to protect her family from slaughter after the abolition of the samurai class. She's not sure how they'll ever survive, not without her father, who has returned from war with a different soul behind his eyes.When Lee and Sen find one another through a door between their worlds, they're both looking for answers. But what they find in the creaking old house they share is beyond what either of them could imagine...PRAISE FOR THE NEWEST VOICE IN HORROR:'A profound reminder of the true horrors that lurk in the world' TORI BOVALINO'A serial killer mystery and a heartbreaking portrayal of grief' KIRSTY LOGAN'This book dug its claws into me and would not let go' LING LING HUANG'Body horror and female rage fiction combine in a powerful novel that will leave you quaking' ALMA KATSU'A poignant, searing portrait of the hostility and violence that plagued pandemic-era NYC' VERONICA G. HENRY

THE #1 INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING SERIESWelcome back to the Full Moon Coffee Shop.HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD AND TRANSLATED INTO 20 LANGUAGESIn Japanese legend, cats are symbols of good luck. If you are kind to them, they'll return the favour one day. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might find yourself invited to a celestial café.Under a glittering full moon, a Kyoto coffee shop appears only where and when it's needed. It's run by talking cats serving delicious desserts and age-old astrological wisdom. The café's first customer of the night, Satomi, catches wind of her boyfriend's plan to propose, and feels torn between love and success. Her disaffected intern, Koyuki, is having a hard time fitting into the new version of her family, while Junko is visiting home for the first time after decades away.In this follow-up to the cosy classic, the customers of the Full Moon Coffee Shop stand at a crossroads in their lives. With the help of some feline divinations, they will find the courage to follow their stars.'Lose yourself in a world of talking cats with this cult bestseller' GLAMOUR'Perfect for readers of feel-good fiction' BOOKLIST

'With Sisters in Yellow, [Kawakami] proves she is still the most exciting Japanese novelist at work today' The Times<BR>Deluxe Hardback edition<BR><BR>From the International Booker Prize-Shortlisted author of Heaven and Breasts and Eggs<BR><BR>Hana has nothing but she's hopeful. She's fifteen years old. She lives in a tiny apartment in a suburb of Tokyo with her young mother, a hostess at a local dive bar. They have no money, no security. Then Kimiko appears.<BR><BR>Kimiko is older, a bright light in Hana's dark world. Together they set up Lemon, a bar that, despite its shabby setting and seedy clientele, becomes a haven for Hana. Suddenly Hana has a job she loves, friends to share her days with, and the glittering promise of money. She feels like a normal girl. She feels invincible.<BR><BR>But in the narrow alleys of Sangenjaya, nothing is as it seems. Soon all of Hana's hope, her optimism, and her drive, will be tested to the limit . . .<BR><BR>A story of enduring friendship and deep betrayal, Sisters in Yellow is a masterpiece of teenage dreams and adult cruelties that confirms Mieko Kawakami as one of the great writers of her generation.

The heartwarming Japanese bestseller about grief, love and a cat who will do anything to see his beloved owner again'A much-needed dose of comfort and positivity' SHANNA TANAfter a long and happy life with a loving human family, tabby cat Fuuta has passed into the afterlife. But he is not as far from his owner Michiru as it seems. Sometimes the divide between the lands of the living and the dead can be traversed.Eager to see Michiru again, Fuuta interviews for a position at Café Pont, which sits in the liminal space between the two worlds. The café is known for its unique service: its living customers can request meetings with the person they'd most like to see again, through the specially selected spirits of messenger cats.Fuuta must investigate and deliver his messages without unnerving the living, or worse, upsetting the balance of the universe itself. It is a weighty task for a tabby cat, but Fuuta rises to the challenge. After all, the job offers a special reward: he will get to see Michiru again. And he'll do anything to reunite with his family.Translated from Japanese by M JeanReaders love Messenger Cat Cafe'This book is so heartwarming... delightful!' *****'Softly magical and deeply comforting... A beautiful meditation on love that never truly ends' *****'What an absolutely gorgeous read this was!' *****'This book is so sweet. I loved all the little ways it reminds you to live, to love, and to stop regretting things that you cannot control or change' *****

THE #1 INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING HEALING SERIES FROM JAPANANOTHER TALE OF CATS, CAKES AND ASTROLOGY FOR READERS OF BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLDUnder the influence of Neptune, the doors to people's dreams are opening once again...If you are kind to cats, so Japanese legend goes, they'll return the favour one day. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might find yourself invited to a celestial café. One summer moon, a cat with azure eyes takes over the running of the Full Moon Coffee Shop. But this cat isn't just any old cat: it embodies our deepest desires - and quietly keeps watch over our dream worlds.The evening's first customer is an aging mother living in a crumbling house by the sea, in the company of her fluffy Persian. Fujiko hasn't seen her only daughter, a high-flying actress in Tokyo, for longer than she can remember. But when news of a lost love hits national headlines and reopens closed doors, this new feline friend offers the chance of a long-awaited reunion.A story about love in all its forms, the third book in the bestselling Full Moon Coffee Shop series tells an empowering story about love and coming to terms with your true feelings.

The instant Sunday Times bestseller.<BR><BR>The must-have sequel to Sosuke Natsukawa's bestselling The Cat Who Saved Books - an uplifting tale from Japan about a talking cat and the power of books to make a difference in the world.<BR><BR>Thirteen-year-old Nanami Kosaki loves reading. The local library has become a home from home and books are her friends. When Nanami notices that some of her favourite books are disappearing from the library shelves, she becomes suspicious of a man in a grey suit whose furtive behaviour doesn't feel right.<BR><BR>Should she follow him to see what he's up to? It wouldn't be dangerous . . . would it?<BR><BR>When a smart-talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and issues a grave warning about how dangerous that would be, they decide to team up and investigate. Where have all the books gone? And can the unlikely duo overcome the challenges ahead?<BR><BR>Warm, wonderful and wise, The Cat Who Saved the Library is a powerful lesson never to underestimate the value of great literature, and a reminder to always think for ourselves.<BR><BR>Translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai<BR><BR>* The Cat Who Saved the Library was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 19.04.25

In the second book in the Ancestor Memories historical fantasy series, a young woman finds herself back in 1920s Tokyo as Japan enters a new and dangerous era—and a deadly tragedy awaits her city.Yui Sanada struggles to raise her twelve-year-old brother, Hiro, while contending with the antics of their neglectful, alcoholic mother. During a trip to Ueno Park, Hiro runs away from his sister into a strange passage beneath a samurai statue. Yui chases after him and soon finds herself in a Tokyo far removed from the familiar world of 1995. When Yui emerges from the tunnel, she cannot find Hiro but meets a young woman named Chiyo and her family and learns she has traveled back through time to 1923. As feelings between the two women develop, Yui and realizes it’s just weeks before the devastating Great Kanto Earthquake will happen, killing tens of thousands and leveling the city. Will Yui be able to find her brother and save her new family from the coming disaster? 

Mitch and Yonko haven't spoken in a year. As children, they were inseparable, raised together in an orphanage outside Tokyo-but ever since the sudden death of Mitch's brother, they've been mourning in their private ways, worlds apart. In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, they choose to reunite, finding each other in a city undone by disaster.Mitch and Yonko have drifted apart, but they will always be bound together. Because long ago they witnessed an unspeakable tragedy, a tragedy that they've kept secret for their entire lives. They never speak of it, but it's all around them. Like history, it repeats itself.Yuko Tsushima's sweeping and consuming novel is a metaphysical saga of postwar Japan. Wildcat Dome is a hugely ambitious exploration of denial, of the ways in which countries and their citizens avoid telling the truth-a tale of guilt, loss, and inevitable reckoning.'Tsushima evades any label, her fiction transcends gender to focus on the existential loneliness that is at the heart of humanity.' Japan Times

A new and unabridged 3-book translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling novel about Miyamoto Musashi--the most famous swordfighter in Japanese history! This is the first book of Musashi: The Novel, a sweeping three-book unabridged translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling masterpiece--Japan's most beloved historical novel. Masterfully translated for the first time in its entirety by Alexander Bennett, this vivid and fast-paced story reveals the exploits and inner life of a man who finds not only his true purpose but also his humanity. Book One opens in the year 1600 at the Battle of Sekigahara, a scene of unimaginable carnage where Musashi lies wounded on the battlefield. After being imprisoned for three years, he wanders the countryside aimlessly as a vagabond, desperate to make a name for himself. He becomes a dueling Ronin--a swordfighter without a master. And while his destiny seems clear, to achieve it he must leave his old life behind.

The original story that hatched Mothra, one of the most beloved monsters in the “kaijuverse”—available in English for the first time<BR><BR> Mystical and benevolent, the colossal lepidopteran Mothra has been one of the most beloved kaiju since 1961, when The Luminous Fairies and Mothra was originally published in Japanese. Commissioned by Tōhō Studios from three of Japan’s most prominent postwar literary writers (Shin’ichirō Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta), the novella formed the basis for the now-classic monster film Mothra, with a protagonist second only to Godzilla in number of film appearances by a kaiju. Finally available in its first official English translation, The Luminous Fairies and Mothra will captivate ardent, longtime fans of the films as well as newcomers. Written just months after the largest political demonstrations Japan had ever seen, The Luminous Fairies and Mothra reflects the rebellious spirit of the time. In this original story, explorers visit a South Pacific island and capture a group of fairies, inciting the fury of the goddess Mothra, who sets out for Japan on a mission of rescue and revenge. Expressing a powerful social stance about Japan’s need to chart its own foreign policy during the Cold War, the novella’s political message was ultimately toned down in the Tōhō Studios film. Through this translation, Anglophone audiences will discover Mothra as a figure of protest fiction intricately reflecting the complex geopolitical situation in early 1960s Japan. The Luminous Fairies and Mothra is translated into lively prose by Jeffrey Angles, who also wrote an extensive afterword about the novella’s cultural context, the unusual story of its composition, and the development of the 1961 film. Following Angles’s best-selling translation of the original Godzilla novellas, this new work will once again delight kaiju fans everywhere. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.

'These stories are waves of fury, desire and delicious cruelty, always kissed by beauty and death' Mariana Enríquez A new selection of lyrically haunting 1960s short stories, from a Japanese literary iconA writer is seized by apocalyptic visions, a trio of beatniks dance to modern jazz in the ruins of an abandoned church, and a séance brings forth the reproachful spirits of the military dead.In Voices of the Fallen Heroes, stark autobiography contrasts with pure horror, and the tenderness of first love cedes to obsession, heartbreak and deathly beauty. In one tale, Mishima recounts the true story of the time a deranged fan broke into his home at dawn. Elsewhere, a beautiful youth achieves eternal life through violent murder, and an ill-matched couple seal their fate with a pack of cards, tangled in the web of time and unfulfilled desire.Available in English for the first time, and carefully selected by expert translators, these captivating stories are the perfect introduction to Mishima's work, on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Who doesn't want a second chance at life?Read the original and moving literary gem for fans of Banana Yoshimoto and Kawaguchi's BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD, with stunning illustrated endpapers.What if you could come back after death to watch over your loved one, installing yourself in a treasured mug, for example, or perhaps your mother's hearing aid, a diary, or even a climbing frame, to feel the clambering limbs of a beloved sister?Eleven recently deceased protagonists find themselves floating in the afterlife where a nameless ghost offers them a joyous reunion with their loved ones.But not as you would expect.In a world where souls linger restlessly around after death, unwilling to depart, The Soul Catchers is a comforting, witty, and surprisingly sensual take on the Japanese folk belief that objects can be inhabited by human presences. Utterly charming, Higashi's classic is an original exploration of our eternal reluctance to let go.

'THE AGATHA CHRISTIE OF JAPAN' MURDER & MAYHEM'A TREAT . . . A REDISCOVERED CLASSIC FOR US ALL TO ENJOY' THE TIMES'FULL OF UNEXPECTED TWISTS, A PERFECT MYSTERY FOR A CHILLY NIGHT' READER REVIEW'AN UNDISPUTED CLASSIC' READER REVIEWA CLASSIC COSY MYSTERY FROM JAPAN'S QUEEN OF CRIME** Pre-order MURDER AT LAKE ASHINOKO, the next classic mystery from Shizuko Natsuki, now! **When American student Jane Prescott is invited to spend the holidays with her classmate Chiyo, she jumps at the chance to see in the new year at a luxurious mansion at the foot of Mount Fuji. Chiyo belongs to one of Japan's wealthiest families, the heiress to a pharmaceutical empire headed up by Yohei 'Grandpa' Wada.With the whole Wada family gathered and snow falling outside, the festivities are in full swing. That is, until Chiyo bursts into the room - covered in blood, holding a knife, and screaming that she has stabbed her grandfather to death.Stunned, the family closes ranks to protect one of its own - but Jane alone has more questions than answers. Could her sweet, timid friend really be capable of such violence? Did any other member of the Wada clan stand to gain everything with the patriarch's death? And if so, could the real murderer still be in their midst?Packed full of atmosphere and nostalgia, and with a dark, gritty mystery at its heart, MURDER AT MOUNT FUJI is the perfect rediscovered classic novel for fans of Japanese translated fiction and cosy crime.***'Beautifully atmospheric . . . a fantastic murder story' ***** BOOKSELLER REVIEW'Witty and sharp' ***** BOOKSELLER REVIEW'Full of twists and turns' ***** BOOKSELLER REVIEW

THE RECORD-BREAKING KOREAN DARK-ROMANCE SENSATIONWhen hunger consumes you, what can be left of morality?HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD ACROSS 10 LANGUAGES'An instant cult classic. You have to read it' HARPER'S BAZAAR'If Parasite takes a wide angle, Hunger uses a tight shot' ARTREVIEW'Ambitious... A compelling read' ESQUIRE'An instant cult classic' CRIMEREADSI could go to the police and confess. I could visit the priest and confess.I ate a person. Is that a sin?On an ordinary afternoon, a woman finds her soulmate dead in the street. She cradles the body to her chest and carries it home, where she disinfects every inch before beginning her macabre task.As the man witnesses his own interment from beyond, their two voices - living and dead - tell of a country where the rich feast and the poor starve. But this woman is no longer willing to bow before law, money, or God.A decade in the making, Hunger is a psychologically and philosophically thrilling cult phenomenon about love, capitalism, and the things they do to us.'A feast for the literary senses' ANTON HUR, translator of Cursed Bunny'A novel as slender as it is profound' LING LING HUANG, author of Natural Beauty'A gutting, unforgettable ode' HENRY HOKE, author of Open Throat'Cuts to the heart. Read at your peril' FRANCES CHA, author of If I Had Your Face

Follow the seashell path along Tokyo Bay until you get to the Chibineko Kitchen, where a traditional Japanese meal can summon anyone you choose from your past, but only for as long as it continues to steam . . . --for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Midnight Library, and Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away. If you could speak one last time to someone you've lost, what would you tell them? One sunny morning, the Chibineko Kitchen opens its doors to Nagi, a young woman facing an impossible choice: Should she marry her boyfriend, despite knowing she has only a few years left to live? Desperate for advice from her mother, who died years ago, she hopes that one of the Chibineko Kitchen's fabled meals will work its magic. Such is the promise that attracts three others to the restaurant: an anxious man rebuilding his life after shutting himself away for years, a lonely widow unaware that she is surrounded by friends, and a theater director hoping to rekindle his career after a tragic accident. In the company of Kai, the Chibineko Kitchen's chef; Kotoko, who has experienced the miracle of the restaurant and now works there; and Chibi, the resident kitten, each sits down to a meal of uncanny personal meaning that has the potential to reunite them with a departed loved one--and to remind them what matters most in life. Menu<BR>Tofu no Misozuke: Miso-marinated tofu<BR>Buta Bara no Kara-age: Fried pork belly<BR>Iwashi no Kabayaki-don: Soy-glazed sardines on rice<BR>Shime no Kare: Curry using leftover hotpot

An epic novel of postwar Japan-a powerful reckoning with empire, catastrophe, trauma, and truth-telling-by the author of Territory of Light. <BR><BR> Mitch and Yonko haven't spoken in a year. As children, they were inseparable, raised together in an orphanage outside Tokyo-but ever since the sudden death of Mitch's brother, they've been mourning in their private ways, worlds apart. In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, they choose to reunite, finding each other in a city undone by disaster. <BR><BR>Mitch and Yonko have drifted apart, but they will always be bound together. Because long ago they witnessed an unspeakable tragedy, a tragedy that they've kept secret for their entire lives. They never speak of it, but it's all around them. Like history, it repeats itself. <BR><BR>Yuko Tsushima's sweeping and consuming novel is a metaphysical saga of postwar Japan. Wildcat Dome is a hugely ambitious exploration of denial, of the ways in which countries and their citizens avoid telling the truth-a tale of guilt, loss, and inevitable reckoning.

Michiko Aoyama's second novel in English, now in paperback: THE HEALING HIPPO OF HINODE PARK<BR>_____________<BR>For readers who believe small moments can change everything<BR><BR>THE GLOBAL BESTSELLER<BR><BR>Volume 1 in the Marble Cafe series. By the multi-million-copy bestselling author of WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY for fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD<BR>_________________<BR><BR>Readers adore HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY:<BR>'Slipped into my heart and warmed me, just like a cup of cocoa' *****<BR>'I definitely recommend this book!' *****<BR>'Thursday is the beginning of the second half of the week. I felt restored reading this' *****<BR>'Reminds you that everyone is living their own daily joy and pain. Heartwarming' *****<BR>'This made me realise how we magically influence each other's lives without realising it' *****<BR>___________<BR><BR>Across a bridge, by some cherry blossom lies the Marble Cafe where a woman writes in a notebook and a young waiter prepares her favourite hot drink. Both wonder about each other and about the lives of 12 customers and staff who frequent this charming little cafe behind the trees ....<BR><BR>Taking a walk along the river, cooking the best tamagoyaki, ordering hot chocolate, forgetting to remove our nail polish... The small, everyday acts that we do can offer unexpected encounters and ultimately change a life.<BR><BR>HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY connects twelve slice-of-life moments that open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe.<BR><BR>What happens in between will touch and swell your heart, as readers connect with a community of untold unfolding lives.<BR>_________<BR>Have you tried the uplifting THE HEALING HIPPO OF HINODE PARK also by Michiko Aoyama?

WINNER OF THE AKUTAGAWA PRIZE'So bracing, so strange and humane . . . I loved it.' SHARLENE TEO, author of PONTI'Funny . . . All the people in this novel are alive.' HIROMI KAWAKAMI, author of STRANGE WEATHER IN TOKYO'Witty and sharp . . . I devoured it.' NATALIE SUE, bestselling author of I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL'A slim but impactful novel that will make you laugh and think' DAZEDThe power dynamics of the office are never more obvious than when it comes to food: mandatory lunches with the boss, the colleague who tries to curry favour with home-baked goods, discovering the discarded remnants of someone else's late-night binge . . .In their Saitama office, Ashikawa is the kind of woman Nitani knows he will likely marry: sweet, obliging, and determined to wean him off his addiction to instant noodles. But he finds himself increasingly unable to respect her - or the sugary treats she shares around the workplace, winning their colleagues' affection with baking rather than hard work.Oshio is bolder and uninhibited - she is Nitani's drinking buddy. In the oppressive office atmosphere, the pair grows closer, both outsiders struggling with the rigid status quo.Driven to behave in increasingly absurd ways by the workplace rules that govern their lives, they must navigate the tensions of modern life: between leisure and hard work; indulgence and restraint; the promise of delicious food, and the reality of a lonely pot noodle.

Der neue Roman der Weltbestsellerautorin und British-Book-Award-Gewinnerin Asako Yuzuki!  Ein Roman über Besessenheit, Freundschaft und das langsame Zerfallen zweier Leben.  Eriko hat einen prestigeträchtigen Job in einer Handelsfirma und ein makelloses Leben, doch unter dieser Oberfläche verbirgt sich eine alles verzehrende Einsamkeit. Sie ist fasziniert von Shoko, einer Hausfrau, die wie eine Katze in den Tag hineinlebt und in ihrem Lifestyle-Blog 'Tagebuch einer nutzlosen Ehefrau' von ihrem hausfrauenunüblichen Alltag berichtet. Als die beiden sich zufällig kennenlernen, entsteht eine besondere Verbindung, die jedoch eine toxische Wendung nimmt, als Shoko plötzlich aufhört zu bloggen und verschwindet. Sie geraten in einen Strudel der Besessenheit, der eine Spur der Verwüstung hinterlässt. 'Tokyo Girls Club' ist ein kühner Roman, fesselnd und mit psychologischem Tiefgang.