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Kawakami, Hiromi (Translated by Allison Markin Powell) : The Nakano Thrift Shop

Portobello Books, London, England, 2016

ISBN 1846276004

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 260 pages. The author's second novel to be translated into English. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United Kingdom. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the American Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a softcover original only. "Signed By Author" round red sticker pasted in front. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Hiromi Kawakami's "Furudogu Nakano Shoten" in a felicitous English translation. Her follow-up to her sensational, global debut in English, "Strange Weather In Tokyo" (2014). "A generous-hearted portrayal of human relationships by one of Japan's most beloved authors. Objects for sale at the Nakano Thrift Shop appear as commonplace as the staff and customers that handle them. But like those same customers and staff, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the signs of innumerable extravagances, of immeasurable pleasure and pain, and of the deepest mysteries of the human heart" (Publisher's blurb). Kawakami is one of a rich crop of young Japanese writers meteorically ascendant in the post-Haruki Murakami Age. They include such now well-established writers as Banana Yoshimoto, Osamu Hashimoto, and Shuichi Yoshida. Kawakami is regarded by her readers, critics, and admirers as the contemporary Japanese Jane Austen. Very high praise indeed, but it's because her subject - romantic relationships intertwined with other life issues such as money - and her writerly empathy are in pure Austen territory. It's quite obvious that she has not only read the greatest novelist in the English language of the 19th century (according to Lionel Trilling and Harold Bloom, both of whom should know), but assimilated Austen's piercing insight into the otherwise impenetrable human heart. Transporting Austen to the chaos called modern life illuminates as follows: Love is eternally mysterious and problematic yet we will crave it more than anything else if we are fully human. We may never find definitive answers (much less happiness or fulfillment), but the mystery must be confronted and the problem resolved, one way or another, happily or heartbreakingly. An absolute "must-have" title for Hiromi Kawakami collectors. This Autographed Copy is very prominently and beautifully signed twice, in Japanese characters and Roman alphabet ("English"), in black pen-marker on the publisher's specially-designed bookplate by Hiromi Kawakami. This title will become a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First British Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Kawakami did not make a single public appearance in the West to launch the book. She signed for her British publisher only. A rare signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant Japanese writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO HARUKI MURAKAMI TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 1846276004.

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