Nakano Thrift Shop

From the bestselling author of Strange Weather in Tokyo, here is a story of treasure hoarders, bargain hunters and would-be lovers.

Among the jumble of paperweights, plates, typewriters and general bric-a-brac in Mr Nakano''s thrift store, there are treasures to be found. Each piece carries its own story of love and loss - or so it seems to Hitomi, when she takes a job there. And her fellow employees are just as curious as the items they sell. There''s the store''s owner, Mr Nakano, an enigmatic ladies'' man with several ex-wives; Sakiko, his sensuous, unreadable lover; his sister, Masayo, an artist whose free-spirited creations mask hidden sorrows. And finally there''s Hitomi''s fellow employee, Takeo, whose abrupt and taciturn manner Hitomi finds, to her consternation, increasingly disarming.

A beguiling story of love found amid odds and ends, The Nakano Thrift Shop is a heart-warming and utterly charming novel from one of Japan''s most celebrated contemporary novelists.


''A charming read'' Good Housekeeping
''One for the holiday suitcase'' Vogue