Far From Everywhere

Take the train from central Tokyo and head west. In twenty minutes, hop off and here you are: far from anywhere, but right in the heart of everything. Here, you'll meet a widowed fishmonger who invites his dead wife's former lover to move in, a fortune teller who helps a friend down on his luck, a young woman who learns her mother-in-law's secret over a late night snack of tea and rice crackers, and, at the local restaurant, the cook and the server whose on/off relationship might be back on. From one of Japan's most celebrated writers, this is a charming, character-rich journey around a small community and a meditation on connection and attachment, on loneliness and loss.