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The Garden of Evening Mists
59,000 TNDA BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICKAN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZEWINNER OF THE MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE AND THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZETeoh Yun Ling was seventeen years old when she first heard about Aritomo and the garden. But a war would come to Malaya, and a decade pass before she would travel to see him. A man of extraordinary skill and reputation, Aritomo was once the gardener for the Emperor of Japan, and now Yun Ling needs him.
She needs him to help her build a memorial to her beloved sister, killed at the hands of the Japanese. She wants to learn everything Aritomo can teach her, and do her sister proud, but to do so she must also begin a journey into her own past, a past inextricably linked with the secrets of her troubled country. A story of art, war, love and memory, The Garden of Evening Mists captures a dark moment in history with richness, power and incredible beauty.
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The God of Small Things
59,000 TND‘They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how.
And how much.’ This is the story of Rahel and Estha, twins growing up among the banana vats and peppercorns of their blind grandmother’s factory, and amid scenes of political turbulence in Kerala. Armed only with the innocence of youth, they fashion a childhood in the shade of the wreck that is their family: their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher) and their sworn enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun, incumbent grand-aunt). Arundhati Roy’s Booker Prize-winning novel was the literary sensation of the 1990s: a story anchored to anguish but fuelled by wit and magic.
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The Goodbye Cat
59,000 TNDAgainst changing seasons in Japan, seven cats weave their way through their owners’ lives. – A needy kitten rescued from the recycling bin teaches a new father how to parent his own human baby- An elderly cat hatches a plan to pass into the next world as a spirit so that he and his owner may be together for ever- A colony of wild cats on a holiday island shows a young boy not to stand in nature’s way- A family is perplexed by their cat’s devotion to their charismatic but uncaring father- A woman curses how her cat constantly visits her at night Bursting with empathy and love, THE GOODBYE CAT explores the unstoppable cycle of life as we see how the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down. A huge bestseller in Japan, every page is a joyous celebration of cats and how we cannot resist sharing our lives with them.
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The Healing Season of Pottery
59,000 TNDA heart warming hug of a novel about the rejuvenating power of pottery, for fans of Before The Coffee Gets Cold and Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop. She rubbed the spoiled clay with her fingertips. Like a wound as it heals, the traces faded, and had soon vanished completely, as if they’d never been there at all.
Burnt out by her newswriting job, Jungmin abruptly quits; she’s worked tirelessly for years and she needs to make a change. Now, after months of hibernation, it’s time to put her life back together. Venturing out into the streets near Seoul, she stumbles upon the Soyo pottery workshop.
Drawn in by its light and warmth, and the smell of clay and coffee, Jungmin feels something unfurl within her…Here, everyone has a story to share, and as the seasons change, Jungmin returns to herself. Pot by pot, plate by plate, Jungmin discovers that as her hands become busier, her mind becomes calmer, and her heart opens up like never before. From a rising talent, this is a gentle, uplifting story of new friends and old practices, of finding community, and of what happens when you finally slow down in this fast-paced world.
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The Housekeeper and the Professor
49,000 TNDHe is a brilliant maths Professor with a peculiar problem – ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory. She is an astute young Housekeeper, with a ten-year-old son, who is hired to care for him. Each morning, the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to one another.
The Professor may not remember what he had for breakfast, but his mind is still alive with elegant mathematical equations from the past. He devises clever maths riddles – based on her shoe size or her birthday – and the numbers reveal a poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her son. With each new equation, the three lost souls forge an affection more mysterious than imaginary numbers, and a bond that runs deeper than memory.
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The Kamogawa Food Detectives
59,000 TNDThe first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese sleuthing series, The Kamogawa Food Detectives is perfect for fans of Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold. What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner treats its customers to wonderfully extravagant meals.
But that’s not the main reason to stop by . . .
The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services as ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating a dish from their customers’ pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to unlocking forgotten memories and future happiness. From the widower looking for a specific noodle dish that his wife used to cook, to a first love’s beef stew, the restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to the past – and a way to a more contented future.
A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, and translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is a heartwarming celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal. Perfect for readers of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. ‘Warmed my heart’ – Genki Kawamura, author of If Cats Disappeared from the World
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The Keeper of the Camphor Tree
79,000 TNDImagine an ancient tree by a famous shrine, so powerful that visitors come from far and wide to commune with it by moonlight … When a run of bad luck lands Reito in prison, about to be sentenced, a distant aunt he has never met offers him a surprising way out: he must become the next keeper of the camphor tree. In his strange new job, Reito welcomes the people coming by nightfall to commune with the tree, all of whom are lost and all in need of something.
There is the stern, middle-aged man who hums to the tree for hours; and his glamorous daughter, who has been secretly following him. Then there is the rich, disaffected young man who seems to come grudgingly, with no faith that the tree will even help. What is the secret of the camphor tree? Can its power be more than just a myth?Reito begs his aunt Chifune to explain, but she assures him that when he is ready for them, the answers will come to him.
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The Lantern of Lost Memories
59,000 TNDIn Mr Hirasaka’s cosy photography studio in the mountains between this world and the next, someone is waking up as if from a dream.
There is a stack of photos on their lap, one for every day of their life, and now they must choose the pictures that capture their most treasured memories, which will be placed in a beautiful lantern. Once completed, it will be set spinning, and their cherished moments will flash before their eyes, guiding them to another world.
But, like our most thumbed-over photographs, our favourite memories fade with age. So each visitor to the studio has the chance to choose one day to return to and photograph afresh.
Each has a treasured story to tell, from the old woman rebuilding a community in Tokyo after a disaster, to the flawed Yakuza man who remembers a time when he was kind, and a strong child who is fighting to survive. -
The Lucky Ride
69,000 TNDCombining the whimsy and possibility of The Midnight Library with the mystery and revelatory power of The Secret, Come along for the ride of a lifetime in this heartwarming Japanese bestseller, a story about recognizing opportunities, embracing happiness, and discovering what true fulfillment looks like. What if a single journey could change everything for you? What if it could lead you to new possibilities, help you reconnect with loved ones, or bring peace to your past?In this charming story, the unluckiest man in Japan is given a chance to flip his fortunes when a mysterious driver appears, offering him the opportunity to seize a new path. Life’s setbacks can often feel overwhelming, but in The Lucky Ride, you’ll embark on a journey of self-growth that shows us that luck isn’t something you’re born with—it’s a result of the choices you make and the positive energy you bring into the world.
Set off on this heartwarming adventure and discover that luck isn’t a random gift—it’s something you build over time, a treasure that can be passed down through the generations. Yasushi Kitagawa’s uplifting and compassionate parable will inspire you to find joy in every moment, recognize the blessings in your life, and understand that by living each day with a good spirit, you’re crafting your own luck, one ride at a time. Translated from the Japanese by Takami Nieda
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The Makioka Sisters
69,000 TNDFour sisters live in dilapidated houses, the daughters of a once-great merchant family of Osaka. Each of the women navigates her own complex relationship to the fading lustre of the Makioka family name, in the years leading up to the Second World War. Rich with breathtaking descriptions of ancient customs and an ever-changing natural world, Tanizaki evokes in poignant detail a long-lost way of life even as it withers under the harsh glare of modernity.
‘An exquisite novel about four sisters living though a turbulent decade…I’d put it in the 10 greatest books of the 20th century’ David Mitchell‘A classic novel of a whole country about to turn on the terrible hinge of the war into modernity; its tone is elegiac and bleak’ Observer
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The Miracles of the Namiya General Store
69,000 TND“From exactly midnight until daybreak, the Namiya General Store advice box will be reopening for one night only.” When three delinquents hole up in an abandoned general store after their most recent robbery, to their great surprise, a letter drops through the mail slot in the store’s shutter. This seemingly simple request for advice sets the trio on a journey of discovery as, over the course of a single night, they step into the role of the kindhearted former shopkeeper who devoted his waning years to offering thoughtful counsel to his correspondents. Through the lens of time, they share insight with those seeking guidance, and by morning, none of their lives will ever be the same. By acclaimed author Keigo Higashino, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is a work that has touched the hearts of readers around the world.
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The North Light
69,000 TNDA Financial Times Translated Fiction Book of the YearWinner of the Lindsley and Masao Miyoshi Translation PrizeTranslated from the Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai Minoru Aose is an architect whose greatest achievement is to have designed the Yoshino house, a prizewinning and much discussed private residence built in the shadow of Mount Asama. Aose has never been able to replicate this triumph and his career seems to have hit a barrier, while his marriage has failed. He is shocked to learn that the Yoshino House is empty apart from a single chair, stood facing the north light of nearby Mount Asama.
How can he live with the rejection of the work he had put his heart and soul into, the dream house he would have loved to own himself? Aose determines that he must discover the truth behind this cruel and inexplicable dismissal of the Yoshino house and in doing so will find out a truth that goes back to the core of who he is. Plotted with the subtlety of his bestselling masterpiece Six Four, The North Light is Yokoyama at his elusive, tantalising and surprising best.