
"All the Lovers in the Night" by Mieko Kawakami follows the story of Fuyoko Irie, a 34-year-old woman living alone in Tokyo, whose days are filled with working as a proofreader. Fuyoko is portrayed as an introverted observer of the world, living in a state of daze to cope with the increasingly hostile outside world. Through her interactions with friends like Hijiri and a physics professor, Fuyoko's hidden poetic personality slowly emerges, leading her to question the meaning of relationships and life itself. The novel is described as a poetic, touching, and thought-provoking exploration of Fuyoko's internal struggles and the challenges she faces in finding her place in the world.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings may include themes of mental health struggles, alcoholism, and feelings of isolation.
Has Romance?
While there are romantic elements in the story, they are overshadowed by deeper themes of loneliness and self-discovery.
From The Publisher:
A MAY 2022 INDIE NEXT PICK
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022
Bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs Mieko Kawakami invites readers back into her immediately recognizable fictional world with this new, extraordinary novel and demonstrates yet again why she is one of today's most uncategorizable, insightful, and talented novelists.
Fuyuko Irie is a freelance copy editor in her mid-thirties. Working and living alone in a city where it is not easy to form new relationships, she has little regular contact with anyone other than her editor, Hijiri, a woman of the same age but with a very different disposition. When Fuyuko stops one day on a Tokyo street and notices her reflection in a storefront window, what she sees is a drab, awkward, and spiritless woman who has lacked the strength to change her life and decides to do something about it.
As the long overdue change occurs, however, painful episodes from Fuyuko's past surface and her behavior slips further and further beyond the pale. All the Lovers in the Night is acute and insightful, entertaining and engaging; it will make readers laugh, and it will make them cry, but it will also remind them, as only the best books do, that sometimes the pain is worth it.
"In the skilled hands of Bett and Boyd, Kawakami's prose is instantly recognizable-immediate, incisive, and unfailingly honest."-Katie Kitamura, Entertainment Weekly(A Most Anticipated Book of 2022)
Ratings (9)
Incredible (1) | |
Loved It (3) | |
Liked It (3) | |
It Was OK (1) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (28):
Read It (9) | |
Want To Read (18) | |
Not Interested (1) |
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.