"Evocative... Astonishing strange and wonderful" - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A trio of
surreal dazzlingly imaginative short stories set in contemporary Japan that explore desire and
loss talking animals and odd disappearances Sensual yearning and filled with the tricks of
memory and grief from the celebrated author of Strange Weather in Tokyo In these 3 haunting
and lyrical stories young women experience loss loneliness and extraordinary romance. The
nightingale sang again. The plates on the table gleamed and the food in all its ceaseless
variety breathed glossy and bright. The night had only just begun. A woman travels through an
unending night with a porcelain girlfriend monsters of the mist and a monkey who shows no
mercy. A sister mourns her brother who is visible only to her while her family welcome his
would-be wife into their home. One morning a woman treads on a snake in the park. She comes
home that evening and realises the snake has moved into her house and is saying she is her
mother... Winner of the Akutagawa Prize Japan's most prestigious literary award the 3 stories
in this collection: Record of a Night Too Brief Missing A Snake Stepped On reveal a highly
surreal meticulously crafted exploration of the many facets of desire loss and fantasy. Part
of Pushkin's Japanese Novella series: stylishly designed editions of the best of contemporary
Japanese fiction featuring celebrated prize-winning authors including Mieko Kawakami Hideo
Furukawa Kaori Fujino and Natsuko Imamura.
