By Jane Bentham, Nicole Sterba, Zoe Wallace and Grace Wiszowaty
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel
Published in the UK on 19 November, The City and Its Uncertain Walls is the first novel by best-selling Japanese author Murakami in six years and has been one of 2024’s most highly anticipated releases. The novel begins with the teenage love story between the unnamed protagonist and his classmate who believes that her true self belongs in an alternate universe – working at a library of dreams in an imaginary city. The girl suddenly disappears, and decades later, still struggling to come to terms with his loss, the protagonist enters the imaginary realm in search of her. Throughout the novel, Murakami references his own works, alongside books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and many others. The City and Its Uncertain Walls is a vivid and evocative read, full of reflections on the subconscious and the metaphysical, alongside several touching homages to books, libraries and the magical realism genre.
Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura and translated by Yuki Tejima
Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon is a whimsical story that navigates relationships by contacting and communicating with the dead. Due to be published in early 2025, Tsujimura’s main character is a young woman from Tokyo named Hirase. Hirase finds the website of a medium who can call forth the dead. Unsure of what to expect, she is brought to a fancy hotel and met by a young boy. To her surprise, this is the Go-Between, who explains to her what will happen during her time with the medium. Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon explores the past and the present, and how we may fit in between them. Tsujimura paints a beautiful world, leaving pockets of information for her reader that will help piece together the bigger picture of her story. As this novel progresses, we hear multiple different characters have a meeting with the medium. Author of the Japanese bestseller Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Tsujimura’s novel of 2025 is definitely something to look forward to.
Brightly Shining by Ingvlid Rishøi, translated by Caroline Waight
If you’re looking for a short novel to read for the festive season, or simply wish to gift one to somebody, then Brightly Shining may be worth reading.
With Christmas right around the corner, siblings Ronja and Melissa are worried about their father; he’s out of a job, and the cold, empty fridge taunts them. When ten-year-old Ronja hears of a job selling Christmas trees, she can’t believe their stroke of luck. The fridge starts filling up with hearty foods, and their father comes home with groceries in his hands, and a smile on his face. But he gets caught up in the temptation of the local pub and soon all responsibilities are forgotten.
Melissa decides to take his job over at the Christmas tree stand with her sister Ronja before and after school. Suffering in the darkness of winter in the Norwegian polar night, the sisters dream of something wonderful. Something much brighter, and full of kindness - and some people may just help their dreams come true.
Brightly Shining is just under 200 pages, but it tells a beautiful story about sisterhood – a truly impactful read for such a short novella. The perfect gift for you to gift to a sister of your own. If you are a fan of Claire Keegan, then Brightly Shining may be something right up your alley.
Gifted by Suzumi Suzuki, translated by Allison Markin Powell
Suzumi Suzuki’s debut novel, Gifted, explores the fractured relationship between a mother and daughter. The novel takes place in Kabukicho, a small entertainment district in Tokyo, where the unnamed narrator works as a hostess in a club, as she attempts to navigate this dangerous underbelly of Japanese society. When the narrator’s formally estranged mother asks to be taken in by her daughter as she endures the final days of her terminal illness, the narrator sees her past traumas merge with her present.
Rather than following a clear plot, the novel unfolds as a stream of consciousness and a series of disjointed memories, as we learn about how the narrator’s mother failed to fulfil her maternal duties, and the abuse inflicted upon her as a child, alongside her mourning the recent death of a close friend and her caring for her mother in the present day. Although there is no direct reconciliation between the narrator and her mother, this finite period where they’re reunited in the face of death, enables the narrator to reckon with these memories and move towards a state of healing.
Through exploring these themes, Suzuki offers a powerful meditation on trauma, the fragility of life and the struggle to exist in a society which objectifies women.