{"product_id":"the-nakano-thrift-shop-by-hiromi-kawakami","title":"The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis \"gentle, humorous novel\" follows a young Japanese woman as she yearns for the love of a reluctant coworker (\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe objects for sale at the Nakano Thrift Shop appear as commonplace as the staff and customers who handle them. But like those staff and customers, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the signs of innumerable extravagances, of immeasurable pleasure and pain, and of the deep mysteries of the human heart. Hitomi, the inexperienced young woman who works the register, has fallen for her coworker, the oddly reserved Takeo. Unsure of how to attract his attention, she seeks advice from her employer's sister, Masayo, whose sentimental entanglements make her a somewhat unconventional guide. But thanks in part to Masayo, Hitomi will come to realize that love, desire, and intimacy require acceptance not only of idiosyncrasies but also of the delicate waltz between open and hidden secrets, in this novel from the author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eStrange Weather in Tokyo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e that \"captures an untranslatable Japanese mood\" ( \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e ).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Uses a series of vignettes to chronicle a girl's time working at Mr. Nakano's secondhand store in Tokyo . . . Pleasant, leisurely prose.\" - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Hiromi Kawakami's charming novel illuminates moments of kindness, love and friendship that pop up like the unexpected treasures amid the shop's dusty collection of pretty mismatched bowls and plates, castoff eyeglasses, task lamps and old electric fans.\" - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star-Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e_____\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBestselling author \u003cstrong\u003eHiromi Kawakami\u003c\/strong\u003e has won acclaim for her essays, stories, and novels. Her short fiction has appeared in English in \u003cem\u003eThe Paris Review\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eGranta\u003c\/em\u003e . Her novel \u003cem\u003eStrange Weather in Tokyo\u003c\/em\u003e was shortlisted for the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize and the 2014 International Foreign Fiction Prize. She lives in Japan. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAllison Markin Powell\u003c\/b\u003e is a literary translator and editor in New York City. Her translations include works by Osamu Dazai, Fuminori Nakamura, and Kanako Nishi, and she was the guest editor for the first Japan issue of \u003cem\u003eWords Without Borders\u003c\/em\u003e. She maintains the database Japanese Literature in English at www.japaneseliteratureinenglish.com.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nikkei National Museum","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45114355876016,"sku":null,"price":27.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0570\/9679\/8384\/files\/TheNakanoThriftShop.jpg?v=1778871838","url":"https:\/\/shop.nikkeiplace.org\/products\/the-nakano-thrift-shop-by-hiromi-kawakami","provider":"Nikkei National Museum Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}