3.5
Hardboiled & Hard Luck
ByPublisher Description
In cherished novels such as
and
, Banana Yoshimoto's warm, witty, and heartfelt depictions of the lives of young Japanese have earned her international acclaim and bestseller status. Her insightful, spare vision returns in two novellas possessed by the ghosts of love found and lost. In
, the unnamed narrator is hiking in the mountains on an anniversary she has forgotten about, the anniversary of her ex-lover's death. As she nears her hotel—stopping on the way at a hillside shrine and a strange soba shop—a sense of haunting falls over her. Perhaps these eerie events will help her make peace with her loss.
is about another young woman, whose sister is dying and lies in a coma. Kuni's fiancé left her after the accident, but his brother Sakai continues to visit, and the two of them gradually grow closer as they make peace with the impending loss of their loved one. Yoshimoto's voice is clear, assured, and deeply moving, displaying again why she is one of Japan's, and the world's, most beloved writers.
"A sparkling book." —
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesHardboiled & Hard Luck Reviews
3.5
lucy
Created 6 days agoShare
Report
“did not like the eery vibes”
Dini
Created 9 days agoShare
Report
“I love both stories on the books but reading “Hard Luck” made me think of my own relationship with my sister. The bond between the two sisters in the story, how deeply they care for each other and how their lives mirror felt incredibly familiar to me. I especially connected with the narrator’s quiet admiration and constant, almost instinctual love for her sister. It reminded me of how I adore my own little sister, how protective I feel, how our similarities make me feel close to her, and how the idea of losing that bond even for a moment feels unthinkable. The story touched something very real in me like Banana Yoshimoto stories always do.”
Claudia Guevara
Created 20 days agoShare
Report
tigerlilysmama
Created 21 days agoShare
Report
Iqra Saba
Created 22 days agoShare
Report
About Banana Yoshimoto
Banana Yoshimoto was born in 1964. She has won numerous prizes in her native Japan, and her first book, "Kitchen, " has sold millions of copies worldwide. She lives in Tokyo. "Kitchen" and her highly praised novel, "N.P., " are both available from Washington Square Press.MICHAEL EMMERICH graduated from Princeton University. After completing research in Japanese literature studies at Ritsumeikan University in Tokyo, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in Japanese literature from Columbia University. He is the highly acclaimed translator of Nobel laureate Yasunari KawabatasFirst Snow on Fuji; Banana Yoshimotos Asleep, Goodbye Tsugumi and Hardboiled & Hard Luck; Genichiro Takahashis Sayonara Gangsters; Mari Akasakas Vibrator; and Taichi Yamadas In Search of a Distant Voice.
Other books by Banana Yoshimoto
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
