Books from Japan
236 popular japanese books
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world.
All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around Asia Challenge" were written by authors from Japan.
Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.
31.
Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka EN
Description:
A dark, satirical thriller by the bestselling Japanese author, following the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins--soon to be a major film from Sony Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird--the self-proclaimed "unluckiest assassin in the world"--boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase--and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, "the Prince," with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciou... continue
32.
Butter : A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki EN
Description:
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer, and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story There are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarine. Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in the Tokyo Detention House convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, whom she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation's imagination, but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is until journalist Rika Machida writes a lett... continue
33.
Buurtsupermens by Sayaka Murata NL
Description:
Een jonge Japanse vrouw die de wereld en de mensen niet goed begrijpt, vindt haar geluk in het werken in een kleine buurtsupermarkt.
34.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami EN
Description:
A mesmerising mystery story about friendship from the internationally bestselling author of Norwegian Wood and 1Q84 Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school. By chance all of their names contained a colour. The two boys were called Akamatsu, meaning ‘red pine’, and Oumi, ‘blue sea’, while the girls’ names were Shirane, ‘white root’, and Kurono, ‘black field’. Tazaki was the only last name with no colour in it. One day Tsukuru Tazaki’s friends announced that they didn't want to see him, or talk to him, ever again. Since that day Tsukuru has been floating through life, unable to form intim... continue
35.
Come Rain Or Come Shine by Kazuo Ishiguro EN
Description:
In Kazuo Ishiguro's hands, a snapshot of domestic realism becomes a miniature masterpiece of memory and forgetting.
36.
Confessions by Kanae Minato EN
Description:
When Yuko Moriguchi's four-year-old daughter died in the middle school where she teaches, everyone thought it was a tragic accident. It's the last day of term, and Yuko's last day at work. She tells her students that she has resigned because of what happened - but not for the reasons they think. Her daughter didn't die in an accident. Her daughter was killed by two people in the class. And before she leaves, she has a lesson to teach... But revenge has a way of spinning out of control, and Yuko's last lecture is only the start of the story. In this bestselling Japanese thriller of love, despai... continue
37.
Convenience Store Woman : A Novel by Sayaka Murata EN
Description:
Meet Keiko. Keiko is 36 years old. She's never had a boyfriend, and she's been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years. Keiko's family wishes she'd get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won't get married. But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she's not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store... *Convenience Store Woman comes in three different colours; the colour you receive will be chosen at random*
38.
Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami EN
Description:
High-class call girls billed to Mastercard. A psychic 13-year-old dropout with a passion for Talking Heads. A hunky matinee idol doomed to play dentists and teachers. A one-armed beach-combing poet, an uptight hotel clerk and one very bemused narrator caught in the web of advanced capitalist mayhem. Combine this offbeat cast of characters with Murakami's idiosyncratic prose and out comes Dance Dance Dance. 'If Raymond Chandler had lived long enough to see Blade Runner, he might have written something like Dance Dance Dance' Observer 'Mr Murakami writes metaphysical Far Easterns with a Western ... continue
39.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa EN
Description:
The wise and charming international bestseller and hit Japanese movie about a young woman who loses everything but finds herself--a tale of new beginnings, romantic and family relationships, and the comfort that can be found in books. Translated By Eric Ozawa Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a relatively easy existence--until the day her charming boyfriend Kashikoi, the man she expected to wed, casually announces he's been cheating on her and is marrying the other woman. Suddenly, Takako's life is in freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into a dee... continue
40.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop : A Novel by Satoshi Yagisawa EN
Description:
The wise and charming international bestseller and hit Japanese movie about a young woman who loses everything but finds herself--a tale of new beginnings, romantic and family relationships, and the comfort that can be found in books. Translated By Eric Ozawa Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a relatively easy existence--until the day her charming boyfriend Kashikoi, the man she expected to wed, casually announces he's been cheating on her and is marrying the other woman. Suddenly, Takako's life is in freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into a dee... continue