Our critics’ favorite books published in 2020
As 2021 approaches, six Japan Times book reviewers look back on their top reads released in English this year.
Is Japan enjoying a new literary golden age?
With more and more Japanese novels in translation achieving commercial and critical success, Nicolas Gattig and Damian Flanagan argue over whether a new wave of writers are transcending Japan's literary past.
The new Japanese Classics series from Vintage Classics presents five seminal Japanese novels, from Junichiro Tanizaki to Yoko Ozawa, with stunning cover art by Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu.
'The Memory Police': An island where a good memory won't do you any favors
In Yoko Ogawa's "The Memory Police," as memories of everyday objects are ripped away from society, one novelist sets out to conceal her editor — a person who cannot forget these missing objects — from a mysterious, state-sanctioned police force.
'The Diving Pool': Three psychologically subversive novellas
In these unsettling novellas — "The Diving Pool," "Pregnancy Diary" and "Dormitory" — Yoko Ogawa subverts expectations of traditional female milestones.
Japan's most exciting book releases in 2019
2019's impressive lineup of books on Japan, include classic reprints, new fiction and studies of the nation's international relations.
Hotel Iris: Sexual obsession in a drab island resort
"The Housekeeper and the Professor" may be Yoko Ogawa's most critically acclaimed and well-known work, but her 1996 novel "Hotel Iris" is a more beguiling tale that evinces the mystery and violence of love. Hotel Iris, by Yoko Ogawa, ...
The Housekeeper and the Professor
Yoko Ogawa's "The Housekeeper and the Professor" garnered instant acclaim when it was published in 2003, winning the Hon'ya Taisho award. Translated into English in 2009 by Stephen Snyder, this short tale has steadily gained fans worldwide, making it a modern Japanese classic. ...
