When Hitomi takes a job on the cash register of a neighbourhood thrift store, she finds herself drawn into a very idiosyncratic community. There is Mr Nakano, an enigmatic ladies' man with several ex-wives; Masayo, Mr Nakano's sister, an artist who has never married; and her fellow employee Takeo, a shy but charming young man. Every day, customers from the neighbourhood pass in and out as curios are bought and sold, each one containing its own surprising story. When Hitomi and Takeo begin to fall for one another, they find themselves in the centre of their own drama - and on the edges of many others.
A tender and affecting exploration of the mystery that lurks in the ordinary, this novel traces the seemingly imperceptible threads that weave together a community, and the knots that bind us to one another.
- ISBN10 1846276004
- ISBN13 9781846276002
- Publish Date 4 August 2016
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 25 August 2022
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Granta Books
- Imprint Portobello Books Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 256
- Language English