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Strange Weather in Tokyo
by
Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, 'Sensei', in a bar. He is at least thirty years her senior, retired and, she presumes, a widower. After this initial encounter, the pair continue to meet occasionally to share food and drink sake, and as the seasons pass - from spring cherry blossom to aut
...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
May 1st 2014
by Portobello Books
(first published 2001)
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Showing 1-30
This book reads like Japanese art. Clean lines, spare and uncluttered. Or sparse, haiku as opposed to Shakespeare. The story is slight and the book is short. I found it somewhat cinematic - chapters as scenes - in Santuro's bar, at Sansei's, on the island, mushroom hunting, etc. Each an experimental and incremental step in a casual relationship full of stops and starts.
There's not a lot of explanation to why they are the people they are. They are loners who do not seek out friendships, though th ...more
There's not a lot of explanation to why they are the people they are. They are loners who do not seek out friendships, though th ...more
Ay, qué historia tan bonita! Ni un día me a durado! Hace unas semanas vi este libro en la librería y ni me lo pensé: tenía que leerlo sí o sí, y realmente me alegro de haberlo hecho 😊
Aug 11, 2013
Sian Lile-Pastore
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction
oh. really sweet, tender and gentle book. There isn't much of a plot (I like no plot) just all about a relationship between two mismatched people and lots of lovely passages about japanese food and drink - tofu, miso, salted shallots, edame, beer and sake.
really beautiful.
really beautiful.
Translated into English as Strange Weather in Tokyo.
38-year-old Tsukiko is content enough to split her days between the office, her regular bistro and her lonely appartment. She used to have a boyfriend... or two, but they weren't really significant, so the relationship fizzled out soon enough. Her high school Japanese teacher wasn't particularly memorable either, proof of this is that she can only refer to him as sensei (teacher in Japanese)... lest she didn't want to be outright rude. As it tu ...more
38-year-old Tsukiko is content enough to split her days between the office, her regular bistro and her lonely appartment. She used to have a boyfriend... or two, but they weren't really significant, so the relationship fizzled out soon enough. Her high school Japanese teacher wasn't particularly memorable either, proof of this is that she can only refer to him as sensei (teacher in Japanese)... lest she didn't want to be outright rude. As it tu ...more
Apr 08, 2014
Antonomasia
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Antonomasia by:
Independent Foreign Fiction Prize longlist 2014
Book 2200.
Not as twee as it looks. The heroine is about 15 years older than the flying manic pixie dreamgirl on the cover, she gets drunk a lot, works stupidly long hours, has arguments about sports and forgets to clean a pair of muddy shoes for weeks. Out of the characters in the limited number of Japanese novels I've read, Tsukiko is furthest from the traditional idea of a Japanese woman, though she doesn't seem to have set out to reject it; she isn't intellectual, she simply sees herself as n ...more
Not as twee as it looks. The heroine is about 15 years older than the flying manic pixie dreamgirl on the cover, she gets drunk a lot, works stupidly long hours, has arguments about sports and forgets to clean a pair of muddy shoes for weeks. Out of the characters in the limited number of Japanese novels I've read, Tsukiko is furthest from the traditional idea of a Japanese woman, though she doesn't seem to have set out to reject it; she isn't intellectual, she simply sees herself as n ...more
Nov 07, 2018
Gypsy
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
وبتون-فیدیبو-طاقچه-کتابرام-اینا
خب منم تعریف اینو زیاد شنیده بودم ولی داستان چیز خاصی نداشت. بااینحال بدمم نیومد؛ چون پُر از زندگی بود. چیزهایی که متأسفانه برای ما خیلی غریبه... اون هم توصیفات جزیی و ناب و غذاها و بوها و حال و هوای عجیبش. فضاش واقعاً دوستداشتنی بود. تا به اینجا فهمیدم ادبیات ژاپن هم از ژانرهایی هست که دوست دارم. البته ژانر اسم درستی نیست و منظورم یحتمل ژانر فرمی و اینا نیست. چون از روی فیدیبو هم میخوندم انتظار نداشتم به این زودی بخونمش. کتابهای الکترونیک مرگه برام خوندنشون. داستان برام خیلی کشش نداشت اما شخصیت ...more
Poignant atmospheric love story involving a thirty something lonely Woman and her former teacher 30 years her senior.Lots of cultural and culinary insights about Tokyo.The fragmented storyline charts this unusual relationship to its inevitable conclusion.Very enjoyable.
La literatura japonesa tiene algo especial. Tanto sus paisajes como su sensibilidad a la hora de tratar situaciones y personajes son únicos. Mediante una prosa sobria pero profunda, Hiromi Kawakami nos cuenta, como reza el subtítulo, una historia de amor. Pero el corazón y el tema principal de la novela es la soledad en la que están imbuidos los dos personajes principales.
Para llenar el vacío que rodea su vida, Tsukiko acude a su bar a beber sake y cerveza. Un día se da cuenta de que el hombre m ...more
Para llenar el vacío que rodea su vida, Tsukiko acude a su bar a beber sake y cerveza. Un día se da cuenta de que el hombre m ...more
Gorgeous + delicate novel with quiet, minimal writing that also manages to be full of warmth (and delicious food). Like that beautiful cover picture it has a dreamlike floatiness. In the end I found it all very touching, sweet and sad.
Jul 09, 2013
Tonymess
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
women-in-translation
Here’s a challenge for you, write a novel about loneliness without becoming boring. Write one about emptiness without being melancholy, how about deep love without sentimentality? “the briefcase” is a moving sparse and deeply emotional tale of loneliness, emptiness and love but in a style that that is removed and scant enough to elicit a sadness that lingers long after the final page has been read.
This is the story of Tsukiko, in her late 30’s, a loner and a food aficionado who crosses paths wit ...more
This is the story of Tsukiko, in her late 30’s, a loner and a food aficionado who crosses paths wit ...more
کتاب که تمام شد به این فکر کردم که اتسکیکو من بودم در جهانی موازی.
کتاب روایت تقریبا یکنواختی داره ولی اگر به دنبال داستانی با حال و هوای ژاپنی می گردید انتخاب خوبیست.
کتاب روایت تقریبا یکنواختی داره ولی اگر به دنبال داستانی با حال و هوای ژاپنی می گردید انتخاب خوبیست.
‘Strange Weather in Tokyo’ is the story of the slightly aloof and repressed Tsukiko and her budding romance with her former school-teacher, ‘Sensei’ a jocular, if melancholic man who Tsukiko happens to run into in a bar.
The book is more a series of pretty vignettes-some touching, some amusing and some suffused with a kind of sadness which reminds me of the films of Ozu-Kawakami lacks, perhaps, Ozu’s innate sense of genius, yet her almost detached way of telling the story, whilst imbuing the nove ...more
The book is more a series of pretty vignettes-some touching, some amusing and some suffused with a kind of sadness which reminds me of the films of Ozu-Kawakami lacks, perhaps, Ozu’s innate sense of genius, yet her almost detached way of telling the story, whilst imbuing the nove ...more
#JapaneseJune Book #1.
I purchased Strange Weather in Tokyo on my Kindle for a mere 99p, and for that reason I am glad that I read this book. However, if I'd had to pay a normal Kindle price, I would have been a little bit miffed. Although this was a quick and easy read, I didn't feel very satisfied upon finishing it. I just feel ambivalence.
The story is told from the perspective of a woman in her late 30s named Tsukiko, who encounters an old teacher of hers at her local bar one night. From that ...more
I purchased Strange Weather in Tokyo on my Kindle for a mere 99p, and for that reason I am glad that I read this book. However, if I'd had to pay a normal Kindle price, I would have been a little bit miffed. Although this was a quick and easy read, I didn't feel very satisfied upon finishing it. I just feel ambivalence.
The story is told from the perspective of a woman in her late 30s named Tsukiko, who encounters an old teacher of hers at her local bar one night. From that ...more
In una giornata fate tutto: lo comprate, lo leggete e voilà..lo dimenticate.
Ecco un libro che mi ha deluso profondamente.
A sentir la quarta di copertina racconterebbe di un’insolita e delicata storia d’amore intrecciata con tradizioni lontane e ricette culinarie giapponesi.
Chi pensa di immergersi nella versione nipponica di “Chocolat” si sbaglia di grosso.
E mi sbagliavo anche io a rincorrere questo libro per mesi, perennemente in prestito in biblioteca e sempre esaurito in libreria.
E’ pur vero ...more
Ecco un libro che mi ha deluso profondamente.
A sentir la quarta di copertina racconterebbe di un’insolita e delicata storia d’amore intrecciata con tradizioni lontane e ricette culinarie giapponesi.
Chi pensa di immergersi nella versione nipponica di “Chocolat” si sbaglia di grosso.
E mi sbagliavo anche io a rincorrere questo libro per mesi, perennemente in prestito in biblioteca e sempre esaurito in libreria.
E’ pur vero ...more
Oct 12, 2018
Resh (The Book Satchel)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
japanese-translated,
japan
I LOVED this book. It is a strange and wonderful read. A middle aged woman happens to meet her high school English tutor and later develops feelings for him.
When she meets her teacher, she cannot recall his name, so she calls him Sensei (Sir) and continues to do so till the end of the book. We see a strange love story that surpasses age, thinking (the teacher is older and there are clash of ideas). The book is fragmental in nature; we read about an event in the lives of the characters and then m ...more
When she meets her teacher, she cannot recall his name, so she calls him Sensei (Sir) and continues to do so till the end of the book. We see a strange love story that surpasses age, thinking (the teacher is older and there are clash of ideas). The book is fragmental in nature; we read about an event in the lives of the characters and then m ...more
Beautiful and poignant, this little story stole my heart. The layers of the friendship and love flow like waves on the shore as the tide comes in. Each time a little higher than before.
I picked this novel up in a bargain/sale bookstore because the cover and title piqued my interest, and I love discovering Japanese authors I haven't read yet. It seems that Kawakami is quite a famous novelist, and though this is the only story of hers I have read so far, the beautiful mood and touching romance lea ...more
I picked this novel up in a bargain/sale bookstore because the cover and title piqued my interest, and I love discovering Japanese authors I haven't read yet. It seems that Kawakami is quite a famous novelist, and though this is the only story of hers I have read so far, the beautiful mood and touching romance lea ...more
Strange Weather in Tokyo is a love story between Tsukiko (late 30s) and her former teacher "Sensei", 30+ years older than her. Their growing closeness revolves largely around eating tofu or fish, and drinking sake or beer. This is certainly not a wild and passionate tale of romance. Slow burn would be an understatement! There are some poignant moments but overall, I was a little bit underwhelmed with this book, sadly.
Jan 17, 2018
Lorena
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favoritos,
literatura-oriental
Cada vez comprendo mejor que la magia de la literatura japonesa no reside en las historias que se cuentan sino en la forma tan bella e intimista de contarlas. Esta historia me ha recordado a Un grito de amor desde el centro del mundo, historias corrientes que en un primer momento pueden no llamar la atención por lo simple o manido del argumento pero que atrapa por la forma en la que el autor aprovecha cada detalle de la historia y cada rasgo de los personajes.
Una lectura estupenda, estoy deseand ...more
Una lectura estupenda, estoy deseand ...more
I spent the better part of my day with STRANGE WEATHER IN TOKYO by Hiromi Kawakami. I finished it in less than a day and I’m quite pleased that my first book of the year is a five star read.
This novel is gentle, tender and written in uncluttered prose that I found appealing and satisfying. It’s the story of Tsukiko and Sensei, a 37 year old woman and her high school teacher who cross paths at a local bar and fall into a companionable routine with ease. The novel follows this seemingly odd pair a ...more
This novel is gentle, tender and written in uncluttered prose that I found appealing and satisfying. It’s the story of Tsukiko and Sensei, a 37 year old woman and her high school teacher who cross paths at a local bar and fall into a companionable routine with ease. The novel follows this seemingly odd pair a ...more
Mi primer y único libro de Hiromi Kawakami. Preciso un comentario tan corto como esta novela. Y es que lo quiero hacer, porque ésta novela corta de Hiromi Kawakami es preciosa y única, como bien reza la sinopsis: todo un descubrimiento literario. La historia en sí es sencilla pero exquisita, podría contarla en dos renglones y no arruinaría la lectura, porque el sine qua non aquí es la escritura y la desmitificación del llamado amor con diferencia de edad (tantas categorías y rótulos que creamos
...more
4.25/5stars
I REALLY enjoyed this!! I'm happy to say my initial thought that it reminded me of Hotel Iris mixed with Murakami was pretty spot on!
This book follows a woman Tsukiko who accidentally runs into one of her teachers she had in secondary school, and the two of them become fast friends. This story is about them getting to know each other, and slowly falling in love. This book was ADORABLE. Tsukiko was so blunt and didn't take no bullshit, and Sensei was so cute (legit, he did the thing th ...more
I REALLY enjoyed this!! I'm happy to say my initial thought that it reminded me of Hotel Iris mixed with Murakami was pretty spot on!
This book follows a woman Tsukiko who accidentally runs into one of her teachers she had in secondary school, and the two of them become fast friends. This story is about them getting to know each other, and slowly falling in love. This book was ADORABLE. Tsukiko was so blunt and didn't take no bullshit, and Sensei was so cute (legit, he did the thing th ...more
If your book is going to be a bit rightwing, can it at least be a bit sexy (I'm thinking of Yukio Mishima)? Kawakami's young woman is unsatisfied with modern (*cough* Western) life and so falls for the wise old "wax on, wax off" Japanese and his spadeful of mono no aware, his haikus, his cherry-blossom viewing, his pachinko, his "let's look at the moon and no we can't have sex oh go on then".
مترجم خیلی تعریف کرده بود از داستان ولی به نظر من داستان متفاوت و چشم گیری نداشت.
هرچی بیشتر از نویسنده های ژاپنی و چینی کتاب میخونم کمتر با سبک نوشته هاشون ارتباط میگیرم،مشکل از منه یا اونا؟
هرچی بیشتر از نویسنده های ژاپنی و چینی کتاب میخونم کمتر با سبک نوشته هاشون ارتباط میگیرم،مشکل از منه یا اونا؟
Mar 22, 2017
Faiza Sattar
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2017,
ylto-2017-read
★★★★☆ (4/5)
Sometimes when I call out, Sensei, I can hear a voice reply from the ceiling above, Tsukiko
Hiromi Kawakami’s “The Briefcase” is a silent and unique meditation on nature of love and loneliness which thrives in tandem. It’s quite simply a story of a rather unusual relationship between an older gentleman and his younger student from the bygone times.
Set in contemporary Tokyo, Tsukiko, a single woman in her forties has a chance meeting with her old Japanese teacher Harutsuna Matsumoto - ...more
Sometimes when I call out, Sensei, I can hear a voice reply from the ceiling above, Tsukiko
Hiromi Kawakami’s “The Briefcase” is a silent and unique meditation on nature of love and loneliness which thrives in tandem. It’s quite simply a story of a rather unusual relationship between an older gentleman and his younger student from the bygone times.
Set in contemporary Tokyo, Tsukiko, a single woman in her forties has a chance meeting with her old Japanese teacher Harutsuna Matsumoto - ...more
Le di 3 estrellas por el final pero siendo honestas, me pareció bastante plano y soso.
This book is just wonderful. It's quite short at 192 pages and I read it in a little over a day because I just couldn't put it down. It follows Tsukiko and her former teacher, whom she calls 'Sensei', after a chance encounter leads them to form an unlikely friendship. Sensei is much older than Tsukiko but as they are both consumed by loneliness they begin to seek comfort from their time spent together. It isn't long before Tsukiko begins to question her true feelings for Sensei, and the story ex
...more
Virallisesti hänen nimensä oli Harutsuna Matsumoto, mutta minä kutsuin häntä vain opettajaksi eli Senseiksi.
Näillä sanoilla alkaa japanilaisen Hiromi Kawakamin Sensein salkku teos. Teos on kuvaus ystävyyden syntymistä, joka kehittyy matkalla syvemmäksi tunteeksi ja lopulta rakkaudeksi. Kirjan minäkertoja on noin nelikymppinen tokiolainen Tsukiko ja Sensei on hänen entinen opettajansa lukioajoilta.
Tsukiko poikkeaa japanilaisesta naisesta. Hän ei ole mennyt naimisiin eikä ole perustanut perhettä ...more
Näillä sanoilla alkaa japanilaisen Hiromi Kawakamin Sensein salkku teos. Teos on kuvaus ystävyyden syntymistä, joka kehittyy matkalla syvemmäksi tunteeksi ja lopulta rakkaudeksi. Kirjan minäkertoja on noin nelikymppinen tokiolainen Tsukiko ja Sensei on hänen entinen opettajansa lukioajoilta.
Tsukiko poikkeaa japanilaisesta naisesta. Hän ei ole mennyt naimisiin eikä ole perustanut perhettä ...more
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انتظار من از کتاب با توجه به شناختی که در دنیای مجازی از مترجم محترم دارم ونیز علاقه م به ادبیات خاور دور، بیش از این ها بود..
ریز بینی ها و جزیی نگری ها و توصیفات دقیق کارهای برجسته شرق دور رو خیلی می پسندم و همین طور حال و هوای مبهم و معلق و درون گرایی ژرف شون رو..
این کتاب هم گه گاه تعابیر و توصیفات دقیق و ظریفی داشت، ولی در مجموع به دلم ننشست و به طور خلاصه کتابی نیست که بخوام خوندن ش رو به کسی پیشنهاد بدم..
ترجمه کتاب ضعیف و گنگه.. و ویرایش هم بیش از حد ناامیدکنند ...more
انتظار من از کتاب با توجه به شناختی که در دنیای مجازی از مترجم محترم دارم ونیز علاقه م به ادبیات خاور دور، بیش از این ها بود..
ریز بینی ها و جزیی نگری ها و توصیفات دقیق کارهای برجسته شرق دور رو خیلی می پسندم و همین طور حال و هوای مبهم و معلق و درون گرایی ژرف شون رو..
این کتاب هم گه گاه تعابیر و توصیفات دقیق و ظریفی داشت، ولی در مجموع به دلم ننشست و به طور خلاصه کتابی نیست که بخوام خوندن ش رو به کسی پیشنهاد بدم..
ترجمه کتاب ضعیف و گنگه.. و ویرایش هم بیش از حد ناامیدکنند ...more
Strange and beautiful.
Tece polako. Klizi neumitno. Kratka je. Razoruzavajuce jednostavna. Klasicno japanski svedena i minimalisticka. Prica o mladoj i usamljenoj devojci i njenom starom i jos usamljenijem profesoru iz skole. Beskonacni niz kratkih, slucajnih i usputnih prijateljskih susreta koji se do kraja pretvori u ljubavnu pricu bez daska patetike. Jer, japanski pisci to umeju. Zapravo roman o samoci. Lep.
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Kawakami Hiromi (川上 弘美 Kawakami Hiromi) born April 1, 1958, is a Japanese writer known for her off-beat fiction.
Born in Tokyo, Kawakami graduated from Ochanomizu Women's College in 1980. She made her debut as "Yamada Hiromi" in NW-SF No. 16, edited by Yamano Koichi and Yamada Kazuko, in 1980 with the story So-shimoku ("Diptera"), and also helped edit some early issues of NW-SF in the 1970s. She re ...more
Born in Tokyo, Kawakami graduated from Ochanomizu Women's College in 1980. She made her debut as "Yamada Hiromi" in NW-SF No. 16, edited by Yamano Koichi and Yamada Kazuko, in 1980 with the story So-shimoku ("Diptera"), and also helped edit some early issues of NW-SF in the 1970s. She re ...more
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“I, on the other hand, still might not be considered a proper adult. I had been very grown-up in primary school. But as I continued through secondary school, I in fact became less grown-up. And then as the years passed, I turned into quite a childlike person. I suppose I just wasn't able to ally myself with time.”
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“If the love is true, then treat it the same way you would plant - feed it, protect it from the elements - you must do absolutely everything you can. But if it isn't true, then it's best to just let it wither on the vine.”
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