(tent) Please Take Care of My Dead Body

For anyone longing to be somewhere else, this collection offers 15-page short trips through mysterious and tender landscapes of love and everyday magic. Fall in love with a man whose back is beautiful, and receive a pair of silver dumbbells. Battle a cat in Ginza to save a tiny person no larger than your palm. Sniff out the scent of a beautiful soul and perform nightly rituals of divine punishment. Live life as your mental age appears, waltz all night, and sip tea that never tastes the same twice. Share a station bento by eating exactly half, then swap. Eat somen noodles on a quiet Sunday noon. Whether it’s love, or not-quite-love, these 18 tales trace the quiet, fervent longing for someone precious. Kawakami’s shimmering world invites you in—for a moment, a lifetime, or something in between.