Description

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A surprising and moving novella about a misunderstood neurodivergent girl from one of Japan's most acclaimed young writers, the author of The Woman in the Purple Skirt

A sensitive and tender depiction of belonging and neurodivergence, perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and the off-kilter novels of Ottessa Moshfegh

Other people don’t seem to understand Amiko. Whether eating curry rice with her hands at school or peeking through the sliding doors at her mother’s calligraphy class, her curious, exuberant nature mostly meets with confusion.

When her mother falls into a depression and her brother begins spending all his time with a motorcycle gang, Amiko is left increasingly alone to navigate a world where she doesn’t quite fit.

Subtle, tender and moving, This is Amiko shows us life through the eyes of a unique, irrepressible, neurodivergent young character.


Praise for The Woman in the Purple Skirt:

“[It] will keep you firmly in its grip.” — Oyinkan Braithwaite, bestselling author of My Sister, the Serial Killer

“The love child of Eugene Ionesco and Patricia Highsmith.” — Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get in Trouble

“A taut and compelling depiction of loneliness.” — Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

About the Author

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Natsuko Imamura was born in Hiroshima Prefecture. She has won the Osamu Dazai Prize, the Yukio Mishima Prize and the Akutagawa Prize for her fiction, which in addition to This is Amiko includes The Woman in the Purple Skirt. She lives in Osaka with her husband and daughter.

Hitomi Yoshio is Associate Professor of Global Japanese Literary and Cultural Studies at Waseda University in Japan. She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2012, and has published articles on women writers and feminist literary communities in late 19th and early 20th century Japan. In addition to Natsuko Imamura, she has also translated short stories by Mieko Kawakami.