On sleepless nights I open the matchbox and reread the story of the girl who gathered shooting
stars. After the death of her father twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent to live for a year with
her uncle in the coastal town of Ashiya. It is a year which will change her life. The 1970s
are bringing changes to Japan and her uncle's magnificent colonial mansion opens up a new and
unfamiliar world for Tomoko its sprawling gardens are even home to a pygmy hippo the family
keeps as a pet. Tomoko finds her relatives equally exotic and beguiling and her growing
friendship with her cousin Mina draws her into an intoxicating world full of secret crushes and
elaborate storytelling. Rich with the magic and mystery of youth Mina's Matchbox is an
evocative snapshot of a moment frozen in time and a striking depiction of a family on the edge
of collapse. Praise for Mina's Matchbox 'I read Mina's Matchbox like a besotted child
enraptured never wanting it to end.' RUTH OZEKI author of The Book of Form and Emptiness '
Dreamy and whimsical Mina's Matchbox traffics in the themes at which Ogawa always excels:
memory identity and nostalgia' Esquire Best Books of the Summer 'A conspicuously gifted
writer. . . To read Ogawa is to enter a dreamlike state. . . She possesses an effortless
glassy eerie brilliance' Guardian 'Evokes the secret crushes and crushing secrets of
girlhood with charm and elegance' People 'Immersive and poignant. . . filled with wonder'
Bookpage Reader Reviews 'I was totally swept away by it.' 'It's a beautiful coming of age
story. I'd recommend it to any lovers of translated fiction! ' ' Uplifting . And Pochiko the
pygmy hippo? A wonder.' ' A beautiful coming of age story '
