Record of a Night Too Brief

“Evocative... Astonishing strange and wonderful” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)A trio of surreal dazzlingly imaginative short stories set in contemporary Japan that explore desire and loss talking animals and odd disappearances Sensual yearning and filled with the tricks of memory and grief from the celebrated author of Strange Weather in TokyoIn these 3 haunting and lyrical stories young women experience loss loneliness and extraordinary romance.The nightingale sang again. The plates on the table gleamed and the food in all its ceaseless variety breathed glossy and bright. The night had only just begun.A woman travels through an unending night with a porcelain girlfriend monsters of the mist and a monkey who shows no mercy. A sister mourns her brother who is visible only to her while her family welcome his would-be wife into their home. One morning a woman treads on a snake in the park. She comes home that evening and realises the snake has moved into her house and is saying she is her mother…Winner of the Akutagawa Prize Japan’s most prestigious literary award the 3 stories in this collection:    Record of a Night Too Brief    Missing    A Snake Stepped Onreveal a highly surreal meticulously crafted exploration of the many facets of desire loss and fantasy.Part of Pushkin’s Japanese Novella series: stylishly designed editions of the best of contemporary Japanese fiction featuring celebrated prize-winning authors including Mieko Kawakami Hideo Furukawa Kaori Fujino and Natsuko Imamura.