Paperback, 176 pages
Published Nov. 30, 2021 by Soft Skull.
From the author of the internationally bestselling Strange Weather in Tokyo, a collection of interlinking stories that masterfully blend the mundane and the mythical—“fairy tales in the best Brothers Grimm tradition: naif, magical, and frequently veering into the macabre” (Financial Times).
A bossy child who lives under a white cloth near a tree; a schoolgirl who keeps doll’s brains in a desk drawer; an old man with two shadows, one docile and one rebellious; a diplomat no one has ever seen who goes fishing at an artificial lake no one has ever heard of. These are some of the inhabitants of People From My Neighborhood. In their lives, details of the local and everyday—the lunch menu at a tiny drinking place called the Love, the color and shape of the roof of the tax office—slip into accounts of duels, prophetic dreams, revolutions, and visitations from ghosts and gods. In …
From the author of the internationally bestselling Strange Weather in Tokyo, a collection of interlinking stories that masterfully blend the mundane and the mythical—“fairy tales in the best Brothers Grimm tradition: naif, magical, and frequently veering into the macabre” (Financial Times).
A bossy child who lives under a white cloth near a tree; a schoolgirl who keeps doll’s brains in a desk drawer; an old man with two shadows, one docile and one rebellious; a diplomat no one has ever seen who goes fishing at an artificial lake no one has ever heard of. These are some of the inhabitants of People From My Neighborhood. In their lives, details of the local and everyday—the lunch menu at a tiny drinking place called the Love, the color and shape of the roof of the tax office—slip into accounts of duels, prophetic dreams, revolutions, and visitations from ghosts and gods. In twenty-six “palm of the hand” stories—fictions small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand—Hiromi Kawakami creates a universe ruled by mystery and transformation.
I enjoyed this! A simple, fun time with magic and vivid characters
Yasunari Kawabata coined the term 掌の小説 ("Palm-of-the-Hand Story" not giving the Japanese reading because it's apparently up for debate lol) which is a concise story that fits into 2-3 pages. He wrote over 100 of these. I'd estimate (due to the way publishing and translation works) I've read about 70 of them. This is not about him, exactly.
This is Hiromi Kawakami following in that tradition, all variations on a theme. Admittedly, my memory is shoddy, and I just SAID I didn't get to read all of Kawabata's stories, but all of these Palm-Of-The-Hand Stories involved the same characters and location. Some are about schools made of sweets, some are about angry farmers. Some are about the lottery to loan out an expensive kid.
I recommend it.
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https://www.ebooks.com/en-ca/book/210235038/people-from-my-neighborhood/hiromi-kawakami/.https://www.ebooks.com/en-ca/book/210235038/people-from-my-neighborhood/hiromi-kawakami/.https://www.ebooks.com/en-ca/book/210235038/people-from-my-neighborhood/hiromi-kawakami/.