Japan flag English books from Japan

Recommended English books written by authors from Japan (103)
Travel the world without leaving your chair. If you speak English here are some English books from Japan for the next part of the "Read Around The World Challenge".

31.

Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination by Edogawa Rampo, James B. Harris EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
For contents, see Author Catalog.

32.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 4 (6 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
A teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom.

33.

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto EN

Rating: 4 (5 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Relates the experiences of two free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan.

34.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro EN

Rating: 3 (9 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness” (The Associated Press). • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick! “What stays with you in ‘Klara and the Sun’ is the haunting narrative voice—a genuinely innocent, egoless perspective on the strange behavior of humans obsessed and wounded by power, status and fear.” —Booker Prize... continue
Genre

35.

Kokoro by Natsume Soseki EN

Rating: 3 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
The great Japanese author’s most famous novel, in its first new English translation in half a century No collection of Japanese literature is complete without Natsume Soseki's Kokoro, his most famous novel and the last he completed before his death. Published here in the first new translation in more than fifty years, Kokoro—meaning "heart"—is the story of a subtle and poignant friendship between two unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls "Sensei." Haunted by tragic secrets that have cast a long shadow over his life, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, c... continue

36.

Life Ceremony : Stories by Sayaka Murata EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
The long-awaited first short story-collection by the author of the cult sensation Convenience Store Woman, tales of weird love, heartfelt friendships, and the unsettling nature of human existence With Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stories ever to be translated into English. In Japan, Murata is particularly admired for her short stories, which are sometimes sweet, sometimes shocking, and always imbued with an otherworldly imagination and uncanniness. In these twelve stories, Murata mixes an unusual cocktail of humor and horror to portra... continue

37.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
"How can you save your friend's life if she doesn't want to be rescued? In a tranquil neighbourhood of Tokyo, seven teenagers wake to find the mirrors in their bedrooms are shining. At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives into to a wondrous castle filled with winding stairways, watchful portraits and twinkling chandeliers. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But there's a catch -- if they don't leave by five o'clock, they will die. As time passes, a devastating truth emerges -- only... continue

38.

Masks by Fumiko Enchi EN

Rating: 2 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Published for the first time in the UK, one of Japan's greatest modern female writers Ibuki loves widow Yasuko who is young, charming and sparkling with intelligence as well as beauty. His friend, Mikamé, desires her too but that is not the difficulty. What troubles Ibuki is the curious bond that has grown between Yasuko and her mother-in-law, Mieko, a handsome, cultivated yet jealous woman in her fifties, who is manipulating the relationship between Yasuko and the two men who love her.

39.

Men Without Women : Stories by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 3 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Including the story "Drive My Car”—now an Academy Award–nominated film—this collection from the internationally acclaimed author "examines what happens to characters without important women in their lives; it'll move you and confuse you and sometimes leave you with more questions than answers" (Barack Obama). Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are lovesick doctors, students, ex-boyfriends, actors, bartenders, and even Kafka’s Gregor Samsa, brought together to ... continue

40.

My Annihilation by Fuminori Nakamura EN

Rating: 3 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
What transforms a person into a killer? Can it be something as small as a suggestion? Turn this page, and you may forfeit your entire life. With My Annihilation, Fuminori Nakamura, master of literary noir, has constructed a puzzle box of a narrative in the form of a confessional diary that implicates its reader in a heinous crime. Delving relentlessly into the darkest corners of human consciousness, My Annihilation interrogates the unspeakable thoughts all humans share that can be monstrous when brought to life, revealing with disturbing honesty the psychological motives of a killer.