Japanese Contemporary Fiction

With Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami gives us a novel every bit as ambitious and expansive as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which has been acclaimed both here and around the world for its uncommon ambition and achievement, and whose still-growing popularity suggests that it will be read and admired for decades to come.

In a Tokyo suburb, a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife’s missing cat—and then for his wife as well—in a netherworld beneath the city’s placid surface. As these searches intersect, he encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists. Gripping, prophetic, and suffused with comedy and menace, this is one of Haruki Murakami’s most acclaimed and beloved novels.

In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they'll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon. This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and seemingly appears at random to adrift young people at crucial junctions in their lives. It's also run by talking cats.

EL FENÓMENO COREANO QUE HA DADO LA VUELTA AL MUNDO. Una historia conmovedora sobre los momentos decisivos de la vida y de cómo los libros pueden sanar heridas y cambiar a las personas. En un pequeño callejón de un barrio tranquilo de Seúl se encuentra la librería Hyunam-dong. La dueña, Yeongju, ha pasado su vida haciendo lo que se esperaba de ella (estudiar, casarse y tener una carrera exitosa) hasta que, tras su divorcio y cansada de cumplir con las expectativas de otros, decide dejarlo todo atrás para perseguir su sueño de tener una librería.

The magus Agrippina saves the munchkin hero Erich by the skin of his teeth. This favor does not come without a cost—she brings news that little Elisa is actually a changeling! To protect his sister's future, Erich's only choice is to accompany the magus to the imperial capital as a servant, leaving his hometown behind... but not before making an oath to his childhood friend. When fairies suddenly appear on his path to the capital, will he be able to avoid a critical failure?!

あの日なら、僕はすべてを捨ててしまうことができた。仕事も家庭も金も、何もかもをあっさりと捨ててしまえた。

After a successful rescue mission in the empire, Eizo welcomes Helen to the family. Life at the forge is peaceful once more, though living in the Black Forest comes with its own set of dangers. The family encounters another aggressive bear, and once they dispatch it, they find and adopt an orphaned wolf pup. With yet another mouth to feed, Eizo knows he must continue to test the limits of his cheats. His next challenge? Working with a rare, stubborn metal called appoitakara. Using this metal, Eizo forges Helen a new pair of swords and then decides to design a katana for himself!

尊敬する物理学者の父・哲泰を文化大革命で亡くし、人類に絶望した中国人エリート女性科学者・葉文潔。彼女が宇宙に向けて秘密裏に発信した電波は惑星〈三体〉の異星人に届き、驚くべき結果をもたらす。現代中国最大のヒット小説にして《三体》三部作の第一作

Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in - it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly White, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi - or Izzy, because “it’s easier this way” - and her mom against the world. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity...and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.

In the early 1920s, Japanese college professor Masao Takashimaya of Kyoto had a passion for modern ideas that was as strong as his wife's belief in ancient tradition. Twenty years later, his 18-year-old daughter Hiroko, torn between her mother's traditions and her father's wishes, boarded SS Nagoya Maru to come to California for an education, and to make her father proud. It was August 1941.

黒木が突き止めたレイプ犯は何者かに惨殺されていた。なぜ黒木は死臭を嗅ぎつけた黒鷲のごとく次々と関係者の不幸に遭遇するのか？

カネ、権力、女、などの欲望渦巻く現代裏社会を描いた新堂冬樹のオーディオプロジェクト第6弾！「黒鷲」不良債務者を地の果てまでも追いつめる凄腕ぶりから、誰もが黒木をそう呼んだ。

Putting the fey tragedy behind him, Erich arrives at the Rhinian capital and begins his term of service under Lady Agrippina at the Imperial College of Magic. There, he draws the attention of a troubling wardrobe connoisseur but has no choice but to press on and earn his sister's tuition. After befriending a student at the College, the two set off on one of Agrippina's simple errands—until the Goddess of Dice turns their quick chore into a full-blown dungeon crawl!

第155回（2016年）芥川龍之介賞受賞作

36歳未婚女性、古倉恵子。
大学卒業後も就職せず、コンビニのバイトは18年目。
これまで彼氏なし。
オープン当初からスマイルマート日色駅前店で働き続け、
変わりゆくメンバーを見送りながら、店長は8人目だ。
日々食べるのはコンビニ食、夢の中でもコンビニのレジを打ち、
清潔なコンビニの風景と「いらっしゃいませ！」の掛け声が、
毎日の安らかな眠りをもたらしてくれる。
仕事も家庭もある同窓生たちからどんなに不思議がられても、
完璧なマニュアルの存在するコンビニこそが、
私を世界の正常な「部品」にしてくれる――。

ある日、婚活目的の新入り男性、白羽がやってきて、
そんなコンビニ的生き方は
「恥ずかしくないのか」とつきつけられるが……。

現代の実存を問い、
正常と異常の境目がゆらぐ衝撃のリアリズム小説。

児童書専門店「夢の扉」を営む水島月菜は、児童文学作家の良城と結婚して8年になる。優しく思いやりのある夫だが、強迫性障害を患っていて、愛する妻に触れることもできなかった

ベストセラー『忘れ雪』から18年。感動が甦る至高の純恋小説「五十年後も、この人の隣にいられますように」スイスの湖畔で運命的に出会った男女に立ちはだかる愛の障壁。

When a mysterious woman requests a custom katana, Eizo's passion is ignited. There's just one problem—the client is a demon, and her people have had a complicated and historically violent relationship with humans. Since Eizo desires a peaceful life, can his conscience withstand forging a god-tier weapon for humanity's former enemy? Along with a new commission, Forge Eizo also receives a new family member: an adorable drake called Krul! Unfortunately, navigating wingless dragon ownership isn't the only trial ahead.

「君はこれから世界でいちばんタフな15歳の少年になる」――15歳の誕生日がやってきたとき、僕は家を出て遠くの知らない街に行き、小さな図書館の片隅で暮らすようになった。

多崎つくる、鉄道の駅をつくるのが仕事。名古屋での高校時代、四人の男女の親友と完璧な調和を成す関係を結んでいたが、大学時代のある日突然、四人から絶縁を申し渡された。

ひょっとしたら、と彼女は思う、世界は本当に終わりかけているのかもしれない。