People from My Neighbourhood

People from My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami is a collection of very short, strange, and quietly enchanting vignettes about the inhabitants of a particular neighbourhood — characters who are simultaneously ordinary and inexplicable, domestic and uncanny. A man who keeps a bear. A woman who smells of iron. A boy who used to be a rock. Kawakami’s miniatures have the logic of fables or dreams, creating a world that is just slightly displaced from everyday reality in ways that are never frightening but persistently mysterious. Published by Portobello Books with Allison Markin Powell’s characteristically precise translation, this slim volume demonstrates that Kawakami’s genius operates as effectively in the shortest forms as in full-length novels — essential for readers who love her work and a perfect introduction for newcomers.