The Nakano thrift shop
By: Hiromi Kawakami, translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell
Contributors: Powell, Allison Markin, translator
Publisher: Portobello Books
Published: 2016
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 260
ISBN-13: 9781846276002; 9781846276019
Subjects: Fiction; Japanese fiction; Translations into English
Work titles: Furudogu nakano shoten
Description: When Hitomi takes a job on the cash register of a neighbourhood thrift store, she finds herself drawn into a very idiosyncratic community. There is Mr Nakano, an enigmatic ladies' man with several ex-wives; Masayo, Mr Nakano's sister, an artist who has never married; and her fellow employee Takeo, a shy but charming young man. Every day, customers from the neighbourhood pass in and out as curios are bought and sold, each one containing its own surprising story. When Hitomi and Takeo begin to fall for one another, they find themselves in the centre of their own drama and on the edges of many others. A tender and affecting exploration of the mystery that lurks in the ordinary, this novel traces the seemingly imperceptible threads that weave together a community, and the knots that bind us to one another.
Notes: Originally published in Japan in 2005 under the title Furudogu nakano shoten by Bungei Shunju, Tokyo.

Translated from the Japanese.