All The Lovers In The Night
Mieko Kawakami
Translated by Sam Bett & David Boyd
11 May 2023Synopsis
A deeply moving and insightful story set in contemporary Tokyo. From literary sensation and International Booker Prize-shortlisted author Mieko Kawakami, the bestelling author of Breasts and Eggs and Heaven comes All the Lovers in the Night.
'A brief, compelling study of alienation and friendship; I binge-read it in one sitting.' - Rebecca F Kuang, author of Babel
Fuyuko Irie is a freelance proofreader in her thirties. Living alone in an overwhelming city and unable to form meaningful relationships, she has little contact with anyone other than her colleague, Hijiri. But a chance encounter with a man named Mitsutsuka awakens something new in her. Through their weekly meetings, Fuyuko starts to see the world in a different light and painful memories from her past begin to resurface.
As Fuyuko realizes she exists in a small world of her own making she begins to push at her own boundaries. But will she find the strength to bring down the walls that surround her?
Poetic, modern and shocking, this is an unforgettable novel from Japan’s most exciting writer.
‘Mieko Kawakami is a genius’ - Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times
All the Lovers in the Night is translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd.
Details
11 May 2023
9781509898299Reviews
If a book can keep me enraptured for the whole journey I count that as pretty unputdownable . . . a brief, compelling study of alientation and friendship; I binge-read it in one sitting.Rebecca F Kuang, bestselling author of Babel
Kawakami’s novel is uncompromisingly candid in its appraisal of the harm women inflict on one another, while never losing sight of the overarching structures that lead them to do so in the first place. Compact and supple, it’s a strikingly intelligent feat.The New York Times Book Review
Her most accomplished novel yet . . . A contemporary Japanese master continues her meteoric rise into our literary firmamentHamilton Cain, Oprah Daily (A Most Anticipated Book of 2022)
[An] engrossing, fine-boned new novel, deftly translated from Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd . . . with this consummate novel, Kawakami’s star continues to rise, pulsing against a night that’s anything but holyHamilton Cain, The Washington Post
