N o v e l s

b o o k s	h o m e

	Kamo tobu sorano Presly Presley in the Duck Flying Sky
	Rironsha (2011.6) ISBN 978-4652079782 / 236 pages / 1400 yen Cover Art / Kenji Kitamura
	Kinyasu, 14 years Japanese guitarist and his best friend, Riku was about to launch their cool blues band. Against their will, Kinyasu's dysfunctional father and his mysterious pal "King" forced them to form the band for impersonating Elvis, then fly into Memphis to spend their summer. Slapstick yet sentimental road novel reflects relationships between friends, father and son.

	Pishan chan Pishan, The Waterdrop
	Shogakukan (2009.9) ISBN 978-4093862561 / 144 pages / 1300 yen Cover Art / Tomoso Nonaka
	A lone Japanese man, who has trouble fitting into ordinary society, lives in a small house -- with an unusual puddle in the garden.  When the curious talkative waterdrop Pishan comes into his tranquil life; he experiences a change of heart.  This book includes many colorful illustrations by the author.

	Inu no Unaji Nape of the Dog's Neck
	Futabasha (2009.8) ISBN 978-4575236729 / 265 pages / 1500 yen Cover Art / Takayuki Terakado
	Sensitive short stories of people who experienced the horrific attack on September 11th, 2001; and discovered quiet but life-transforming moments.  This book contains seven such stories, including "Nape of the Dog's Neck": Nami met this mysterious dog in the park and is sure this dog carries messages from her past, and future.

	Cherry Cherry
	Poplar Publishing (2007.9) ISBN 978-4591098929 / 293 pages / 1400 yen Cover Art / Yu Setoh
	Set in a lake-side house in the city "Cherry Capital", a 13 year old Japanese boy, Shota, spends a summer befriending an eccentric but somewhat charming old lady, Molly. Shota learns how life is filled with the joy of nature, and the pain of losing something important. (Nominated for the Tsubota Joji Children's Literature Award)

	Odoriba Kingyo The Goldfish at the landing
	Shueisha (2007.7) ISBN 978-4087753790 / 253 pages / 1575 yen Cover Art / Ayumi Shimoda
	"Odoriba" is a landing in a stairway in Japanese. The book contains seven stories including "Kooni-chan's Tomorrow" - The encounter of Illegal Iranian guy and Kooni (imaginally Japanese folklore creature) , both are alien in Tokyo, are connected in some way but still awkward to understand each other. The locale of each stories are set in a landing; which is used as a metaphor of the place; connecting inside and outside, now and past, or oneself and the others. ( Korean translation available )

	Sekai no hateno Reggae Bar Reggae Bar at the End of the World
	Futaba-sha (2005.10) ISBN 978-4575235388 / 336 pages / 1600 yen Cover Art / Tomoso Nonaka
	Footloose and fancy-free Japanese high school boy Koh moves to New York City when his father's job is relocated there. Through the wandering of the downtown city streets, and meeting people at a shady reggae bar, he begins to learn the meaning of freedom, as well as the weight of life on his shoulders. Each chapter unfolds with a key raggae hit such as Bob Marley or Dennis Brown.

	Katyusha
	Riron sha (2005.3) ISBN 978-4652077566 / 270 pages / 1500 yen Cover Art / Yuki Kitamura
	Katyusha - a mysterious Russian-Japanese girl suddenly appears one day in front of Kajio, a "slow" Japanese high school boy. Kajio lived in the tiny world of a mildly retarded boy, until Kathyusha opened a door for him into a whole new world. This bittersweet boy-meets-girl story has not only a sentimental twist of romance, but also the painful war memories of Katyusha's Russian grandfather. (Nominated for the 54th Shogakukan Children's Culture Publishing Award)

	Teen Age
	Futaba-sha (2004.11) ISBN 978-4575235098 / 264 pages / 1300 yen Cover Photograph / Ai Ohashi
	An anthology of vivid short stories that tell "slice of (teenage) life" stories by the seven female authors; Hiromi Kawakami, Mitsuyo Kakuta, Rio Shimamoto, Maiko Seo, Chiya Fujino, Michiko Yazuki, and Tomoso Nonaka. Nonaka's tale "Havana, Piano, and The Trail of the Light" takes us into the restless life of a modern Cuban boy Elian, who falls in love with a Japanese girl during her trip to Havana. ( Korean and Chinese translation available )

	Uchuu de ichiban akarui yane The Brightest Roof in the Universe
	Poplar Publishing (2003.11) ISBN 978-4591079072 / 236 pages / 1200 yen Cover Art / Mifumi Mineta
	A blase teenage girl Tsubame spends her after-school hours on an empty rooftop of a building, to tranquilize the tiny irritations of life. The mysterious witch-like old woman Hoshibar suddenly appears, and confuses her pride. With a slowly budding friendship, Tsubame's ordinary days become filled with both painful and joyful episodes.

	Flagler no kaijyo tetsudo Flagler's Folly
	Shueisha   (2002.4) ISBN 978-4087753127 / 269 pages / 1600 yen Cover Photograph / Tomoso Nonaka
	"Shu", a Japanese man who living in Tokyo, receives a letter from Lulu, his ex-lover who disappeared years ago after they had traveled to Key West, Florida. Their story follows the memory of another romance; Lulu's grandmother Atsue, and her poor Cuban immigrant lover Ruben, in the Keys of the 1930s. While Shu and Lulu are pursuing their fateful love, which started in the overseas railroad "Flagler's Folly", they are forced to a tragic end in the historical Labor Day hurricane of 1935. Along the way, he discovers that Lulu's emotional darkness is somehow related to the grandmother's unrevealed secret.

	Pan no naru umi, hi no mau sora The sea of pan, The sky of scarlet
	Shueisha (1999.1) ISBN 978-4087743821 / 214 pages / 1400 yen Cover Art/ Tomoso Nonaka
	(Received the 11th SHOSETSU SUBARU Literature Award) Greg, a New York City subway conductor, and Maya, a Tokyoite running way from her heartbreaking past love, meet in Trinidad & Tobago, where carnival and the sounds of the steel drum (known as a "pan") rouse their passion in each other. "Well described the scenery and craze of the tropics, as well as the sound of the music, that is difficult to translate into words, was brilliantly expressed."  (Seiko Tanabe, Author and Akutagawa Award winner)