Why did I love this book?
I often read Japanese literature to access different perspectives into modern Japanese society that diverge from news media accounts and the research that I do. Kawakami, whose provocative Breasts and Eggs took on issues rarely discussed in polite Japanese society, has written yet another stunning thriller about the everyday life of a rather ordinary woman.
Encountering a traumatic encounter in her teen years, the main character in All the Lovers in the Night is plagued by social anxiety and chooses a profession in editing that allows her to be immersed in language and writing.
While obliterated by demanding work finding errors in other writers’ texts as a copy-editor, the intensity of the page allows Fuyuko to avoid people or think about herself. Yet, her editor, Hijiri, consistently invites her out and shows her what life has to offer for unencumbered career women about town. Fuyuko is inspired to emerge from her shell and develops a romantic relationship with a mysterious man upon whom she projects her emotions.
Kawakami provides an intriguing plot twist in the end, leaving readers rooting for Fuyuko and her new future.
2 authors picked All the Lovers in the Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
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, an extraordinary, deeply moving and insightful story set in contemporary Tokyo.
'A brief, compelling study of alienation and friendship; I binge-read it in one sitting.' - Rebecca F Kuang, bestselling 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…