Name: Life Ceremony: Stories
Price: 20.18 EUR
Availability: InStock
Author: Murata, Sayaka ; Takemori, Ginny Tapley
ISBN: 9780802161345

Type

Physical Book

Author

Sayaka Murata

Publisher

Grove Press

Language

English

Pages

256

Format

Paperback

Dimensions

20.8 x 13.5 x 2.0 cm

Weight

0.23 kg.

ISBN13

9780802161345

Synopsis "Life Ceremony: Stories "

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 existenceWith 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 portray both the loners and outcasts as well as turning the norms and traditions of society on their head to better question them. Whether the stories take place in modern-day Japan, the future, or an alternate reality is left to the reader's interpretation, as the characters often seem strange in their normality in a frighteningly abnormal world. In "A First-Rate Material," Nana and Naoki are happily engaged, but Naoki can't stand the conventional use of deceased people's bodies for clothing, accessories, and furniture, and a disagreement around this threatens to derail their perfect wedding day. "Lovers on the Breeze" is told from the perspective of a curtain in a child's bedroom that jealously watches the young girl Naoko as she has her first kiss with a boy from her class and does its best to stop her. "Eating the City" explores the strange norms around food and foraging, while "Hatchling" closes the collection with an extraordinary depiction of the fractured personality of someone who tries too hard to fit in.In these strange and wonderful stories of family and friendship, sex and intimacy, belonging and individuality, Murata asks above all what it means to be a human in our world and offers answers that surprise and linger.

Sayaka Murata

(Author)

View Author's Page

She is one of the most interesting contemporary voices from Japan. Her work has appeared in the prestigious literary magazine Granta and in 2016 she was Woman of the Year according to Vogue. Her tenth novel, The Convenience Store Woman, marks her debut in the international market thanks to Japan's most prestigious literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, which celebrates voices as significant as that of Nobel laureate Kenzaburō Ōe.

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