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Four Seasons in Japan
- Author
- Nick Bradley
- Narrator
- Hanako Footman
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Publish Date
- 22 June 2023
- Run Time
- 10 hours 43 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Fiction in translation, Narrative theme: coming of age
- Rating
- 4.0 (1 review)
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin
Flo is sick of Tokyo. Suffering from a crisis in confidence, she is stuck in a rut, her translation work has dried up and she's in a relationship that's run its course. That's until she stumbles upon a mysterious book left by a fellow passenger on the Tokyo Subway. From the very first page, Flo is transformed and immediately feels compelled to translate this forgotten novel, a decision which sets her on a path that will change her life...
It is a story about Ayako, a fierce and strict old woman who runs a coffee shop in the small town of Onomichi, where she has just taken guardianship of her grandson, Kyo. Haunted by long-buried family tragedy, both have suffered extreme loss and feel unable to open up to each other. As Flo follows the characters across a year in rural Japan, through the ups and downs of the pair's burgeoning relationship, she quickly realises that she needs to venture outside the pages of the book to track down its elusive author. And, as her two protagonists reveal themselves to have more in common with her life than first meets the eye, the lines between text and translator converge. The journey is just beginning.
From the author of The Cat and the City, Four Seasons in Japan is a gorgeously crafted book-within-a-book about literature, purpose and what it is to belong.
©2023 Nick Bradley (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
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Surprisingly moving ... This is a novel that occupies multiple worlds in multiple ways ... a postmodern riddle while also making for an emotionally engaging story ... there's something here for everyone.
The Times
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Bradley builds a poignant, quiet and affecting novel full of love as well as loss.
Observer
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Transportive, mesmerising and beautiful, there is such a poignancy and tenderness to the story . . . written with lyrical prose that is emotive and warm. Every book worm would love this.
Glamour
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Heartwarming
Cosmopolitan
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Bradley has created an authentic sense of place, capturing the parochial intimacies and day-to-day rhythms of small-town life in Japan
Literary Review
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My favourite novel, a delight for lovers of Japan… Ingenious
David Abulafia, TLS
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A soulful story about Japanese culture, tradition and resilience
Woman's Weekly
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This is a gentle, tender and thoughtful book, exploring literature, love, human connection, Japanese culture and the disillusion of youth. It features beautiful imagery and is crafted in such a way that you want to savour every chapter.
Culturefly
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Four Seasons in Japan doubles as a love letter to Japanese culture, its landscape, and literature, exploring the comfort found in books and the (mis)understanding between generations.
Country & Town House
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This novel is like the waves of the Seto Inland Sea. Waves that calmly roll in and out, permeating the reader's heart and mind profoundly, and before you know it there's a rich high tide.
Kyoko Nakajima, author of Things Remembered and Things Forgotten
User Reviews
Book 4.0
Narration 5.0
- No written reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Nick Bradley
- Narrator
- Hanako Footman
- Duration
- 10 hours 43 minutes
- Release Date
- 22 June 2023
- ISBN
- 9781529909654
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Fiction in translation, Narrative theme: coming of age
- Rating
- 4.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
Brought to you by PenguinFlo is sick of Tokyo. Suffering from a crisis in confidence, she is stuck in a rut, her translation work has dried up and she's in a relationship that's run its course. That's until she stumbles upon a mysterious book left by a fellow passenger on the Tokyo Subway. From the very first page, Flo is transformed and immediately feels compelled to translate this forgotten novel, a decision which sets her on a path that will change her life...It is a story about Ayako, a fierce and strict old woman who runs a coffee shop in the small town of Onomichi, where she has just taken guardianship of her grandson, Kyo. Haunted by long-buried family tragedy, both have suffered extreme loss and feel unable to open up to each other. As Flo follows the characters across a year in rural Japan, through the ups and downs of the pair's burgeoning relationship, she quickly realises that she needs to venture outside the pages of the book to track down its elusive author. And, as her two protagonists reveal themselves to have more in common with her life than first meets the eye, the lines between text and translator converge. The journey is just beginning.From the author of The Cat and the City, Four Seasons in Japan is a gorgeously crafted book-within-a-book about literature, purpose and what it is to belong.©2023 Nick Bradley (P)2023 Penguin Audio
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