After Japan's defeat in WWII, "Pandora no hako" follows a young man named Risuke (Shota Sometani) who has contracted tuberculosis.  He travels to the countryside to a unique nursing facility to receive treatment for his disease. At the sanatorium all the patients and nurses go by nicknames and Risuke decides to reinvent himself as Hibari.  During his stay, Hibari develops realationships with other patients and nurses. After Hibari's friend Tsuikushi (Yosuke Kubozuka) gets discharged from the nursing facility, Hibari writes to him about his relationships with Dakesang (Mieko Kawakami) the chief nurse and Mabo (Riisa Naka) another nurse that is bright and seems to like him.

Pandora's Box

'Breathtaking' - Haruki Murakami author of Norwegian Wood A beguiling novel about three women struggling to determine their own lives in contemporary Tokyo. A New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year' and one of Elena Ferrante's 'Top 40 Books by Female Authors' 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 finds 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 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 Shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. Translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd.
 
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Breasts and Eggs

'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 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. '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

A young boy returns obsessively to a supermarket sandwich counter, entranced by the beauty of the woman who works there. Her aloof demeanour and electric blue eyelids make him feel the most intense joy he's ever known. He calls her Ms Ice Sandwich, and he wants nothing more than to spend his days watching her coolly slip sandwiches into bags. But life keeps getting in the way - there's his beloved grandmother's illness, and a faltering friendship with his classmate Tutti, who she invites him into her private world. Wry, intimate and wonderfully skewed, Ms Ice Sandwich is a poignant depiction of the naivety and wisdom of youth, just as it is passing.
 
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Ms Ice Sandwich

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2022 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. TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2021. 'Mieko Kawakami is a genius' - Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times 'An expertly told, deeply unsettling tale of adolescent violence' - Vogue Translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd.

Heaven

— 2010 Murasaki Shikibu Ödülü — — 2022 Booker Ödülü kısa liste —
“Hep acı çektiğimiz için, başkasını incitmenin ne demek olduğunu çok iyi biliyoruz.”
14 yaşında ortaokul öğrencisi sürekli olarak sınıftaki bir grubun ağır zorbalığına uğrar ama yardım istemeyip sessizce acı çeker. Onu anlayan tek kişi Kojima adlı bir kızdır çünkü Kojima da kötü muamele görür. Aralarında başlayan arkadaşlıkta teselli bulup yakınlaşırlar. Ancak ortak noktanın korku olduğu bir arkadaşlığın doğası nihayetinde nedir? 
Japonya’da ilk kez 2009 yılında yayımlanan, 2010’da kadın edebiyatçılara verilen Murasaki Shikibu Ödülü’nü alan, İngilizce çevirisiyle 2022’de Uluslararası Booker Ödülü kısa listesine giren Cennet, arkadaşlık, aile ilişkileri, şiddet ve güç üzerine sarsıcı bir roman…
 
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Cennet

“Her okura yaşamının anlamını sorgulatan, sivri olduğu kadar büyüleyici bir roman. Roman kahramanı kesinlikle yaşıyor, sahiden nefes alıp veriyor.” – Haruki Murakami   Otuz yaşındaki Natsuko, ablası Makiko ve kızı Midoriko…  Bir yaz günü Makiko meme büyütme ameliyatı için Osaka’dan Tokyo’ya, yazar olmayı isteyen kardeşi Natsuko’ya gelir. Yanında ergen kızı Midoriko vardır. Büyüme sancıları çeken Midoriko kimseyle konuşmayıp yaşadıklarını günlüğüne yazmaktadır. Onun sessizliği her birini korkuları ve bastırdıkları duygularıyla yüzleşmeye iter.    Sekiz yıl sonra, Natsuko kitabı yayımlanmış bir yazardır. Yalnız ve çocuksuz yaşlanmak konusu, kafasını sürekli kurcalar. Bir yandan yeni kitabını yazmaya uğraşırken diğer yandan anne olup olamayacağını tartar.   Japonya’da ve dünyada büyük ses getiren Memeler ve Yumurtalar fakirlik, kadın olmak ve bir çocuğu var etme sorumluluğu üzerine çok çarpıcı bir roman…
 
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