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Our critics’ favorite books published in 2020

Books | 2020 in review Dec 19, 2020

Our critics’ favorite books published in 2020

by Kris Kosaka, Eric Margolis, Florentyna Leow, Nicolas Gattig, Claire Williamson and Stephen Mansfield

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?

Books Jan 25, 2020

Is Japan enjoying a new literary golden age?

by Nicolas Gattig and Damian Flanagan

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.

Japanese Classics series: Vintage Classics gives timeless Japanese literature a look for the new decade

Books / Reviews | RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN Jan 3, 2020

Japanese Classics series: Vintage Classics gives timeless Japanese literature a look for the new decade

by Renae Lucas-Hall

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

Books Aug 10, 2019

'The Memory Police': An island where a good memory won't do you any favors

by Kris Kosaka

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

Books / Reviews | RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN May 18, 2019

'The Diving Pool': Three psychologically subversive novellas

by Kris Kosaka

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

Books Jan 1, 2019

Japan's most exciting book releases in 2019

by Iain Maloney

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

Books / Reviews Oct 24, 2015

Hotel Iris: Sexual obsession in a drab island resort

by J.J. O'Donoghue

"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

Books / Reviews | ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES Dec 6, 2014

The Housekeeper and the Professor

by Kris Kosaka

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. ...

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