This "gentle, humorous novel" follows a young Japanese woman as she
yearns for the love of a reluctant coworker (The Wall Street
Journal).
The objects for sale at the Nakano Thrift Shop appear as commonplace as
the staff and customers who handle them. But like those staff and
customers, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the
signs of innumerable extravagances, of immeasurable pleasure and pain,
and of the deep mysteries of the human heart.Hitomi, the inexperienced
young woman who works the register, has fallen for her coworker, the
oddly reserved Takeo. Unsure of how to attract his attention, she seeks
advice from her employer's sister, Masayo, whose sentimental
entanglements make her a somewhat unconventional guide. But thanks in
part to Masayo, Hitomi will come to realize that love, desire, and
intimacy require acceptance not only of idiosyncrasies but also of the
delicate waltz between open and hidden secrets, in this novel from the
author of Strange Weather in Tokyo that "captures an untranslatable
Japanese mood" (The New York Times).
"Uses a series of vignettes to chronicle a girl's time working at Mr.
Nakano's secondhand store in Tokyo . . . Pleasant, leisurely
prose."--Publishers Weekly
"Hiromi Kawakami's charming novel illuminates moments of kindness, love
and friendship that pop up like the unexpected treasures amid the shop's
dusty collection of pretty mismatched bowls and plates, castoff
eyeglasses, task lamps and old electric fans."--Minneapolis
Star-Tribune
