Sakura: A Novel
About this ebook
Sakura is the story of a family who is happy, until it isn’t. Skipping back and forth in time, it begins when the narrator, Kaoru, receives a letter from his estranged father announcing he will be home in Osaka for New Year’s. The letter spurs Kaoru to go back to his childhood home, and though he is apprehensive at returning, his spirits are unexpectedly lifted when he is greeted by Sakura, the family dog.
Growing up, the Hasegawas were the perfect family. Kaoru’s loving parents doted on their children. Kaoru’s baby sister, Miki, was cute and charismatic, and his older brother, Hajime—a natural leader, athlete, and charmer—was the superstar. The middle child, Kaoru was good at school, but not a star student, friendly with girls but never popular. He was content to exist in Hajime’s shadow, and occasionally bask in his light. Then Hajime was involved in a tragic accident that fractured the Hasegawas, with nothing to keep them together but memories and melancholy.
Returning home, Kaoru and his family must find the strength to reckon with the past and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Luckily, there is Sakura, who somehow has managed to stay happy. What’s her secret? As the Hasegawas learn to let go, it is Sakura who holds the key to help them move forward.
A major bestseller in Japan now available in English, Sakura is a tender, bittersweet, funny, and beautifully told tale about the magic and mysteries of familial love, from one of Japan's most acclaimed writers.
Translated from Japanese by Allison Markin Powell
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About the author
Kanako Nishi is a Japanese writer and artist. She is the author of the novels Sakura, which was a major bestseller in Japan; Tsutenkaku (Osaka Tower), which won the Sakunosuke Oda Prize; Fukuwarai (Lucky Laugh), which received the first Hayao Kawai Prize; and Saraba!, which won the prestigious Naoki prize in 2015. She was named Vogue Japan’s Woman of the Year in 2015 and among Granta’s Best of Young Japanese Novelists 2016. Several of her books have been adapted for film. Born in Tehran in 1977, Nishi grew up in Cairo and Osaka and lives in Tokyo.
Allison Markin Powell is a literary translator, editor, and publishing consultant. She received the 2020 PEN America Translation Prize for The Ten Loves of Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami. Her other translations and co-translations include works by Osamu Dazai, Shiori Ito, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, and Kaoru Takamura.
