Fiction
-
‘Marriage feels like a hostage situation, and motherhood a curse’: Japanese author Sayaka Murata
The Convenience Store Woman author is renowned for challenging social norms in darkly weird near-future fictio…
-
‘Am I a Cyclopian monster?’ How masked writer Uketsu went from asparagus videos to literary sensation
He gained fame in Japan posting surreal videos of meat, veg and even ears. Then he tried writing – and soon ha…
-
Shōgun: why the English samurai’s life and legacy still grip Japan 400 years on
Epic new TV adaptation of the 1975 novel reignites interest in the exploits of the Kent sailor William AdamsOn…
-
Where to start with: Haruki Murakami
The acclaimed Japanese author’s deceptively simple writing combines fantasy and reality in stories of everythi…
-
In brief: The God of Good Looks; Rental Person Who Does Nothing; Starling – reviews
A punchy romance with much to say about Caribbean life; a lazy Japanese guy muses on meaning and connection; a…
-
Kenzaburō Ōe obituary
Nobel prize-winning writer whose novels linked the personal and political in exploring fatherhood and the lega…
-
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au review – a ghostly mother-and-daughter journey
A trip to Japan stirs up uncomfortable memories in this novel brimming with beautiful imageryCold Enough for S…
-
Honkaku: a century of the Japanese whodunnits keeping readers guessing
These fiendishly clever mystery novels have spawned pop culture icons, anime and a museum. And, best of all, h…
-
Sayaka Murata: ‘I acted how I thought a cute woman should act – it was horrible’
The author of Convenience Store Woman talks about working behind the counter, rejecting marriage and children,…
-
Mieko Kawakami: ‘Women are no longer content to shut up’
Traditionalists in Japan hated her feminist novel, but Breasts and Eggs was a huge bestseller. The author talk…
-
Top 10 books about Tokyo | Nick Bradley
From quiet stories of domestic life to accounts of horrific crime, these books introduce the reader to a vast,…