People From My Neighborhood (Japanese: このあたりの人たち, Hepburn: Kono Atari no Hito-tachi, lit. 'People Around Here') is a 2016 short story collection by Hiromi Kawakami published by Switch Publishing.[1] In thirty-six interlinked stories, the book explores the lives of people in a neighborhood outside of Tokyo.[2] An English translation by Ted Goossen was published by Granta Books in 2020 and Soft Skull in 2021.[3][4] The book was a nominee for a 2021 Shirley Jackson Award for a single-author collection.[5]
 | |
| Author | Hiromi Kawakami |
|---|---|
| Original title | People Around Here (このあたりの人たち, Kono Atari no Hito-tachi) |
| Translator | Ted Goossen |
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre | Short story collection |
| Publisher | Switch Publishing |
Publication date | June 29, 2016 |
| Publication place | Japan |
Published in English | August 6, 2020 (Granta) November 30, 2021 (Soft Skull) |
| ISBN | 978-1846276989 |
| Preceded by | Under the Eye of the Big Bird (大きな鳥にさらわれないよう, О̄kina Tori ni Sarawarenai yо̄) |
| Followed by | The Third Love (三度目の恋, San-dome no Koi) |
Content
editThe book follows the lives of several characters in a neighborhood through twenty-six stories, specifically focusing on the mundane, quotidian details about their experiences. The book is intended to comprise of palm of the hand stories similar to the book and tradition by Yasunari Kawabata.[2]
Critical reception
editIn a starred review, Kirkus Reviews called the book "engaging and winsome", likening it works by Italo Calvino and Lyudmila Petrushevskaya albeit with a Japanese sensibility.[6] Publishers Weekly called it a "magical and engaging collection".[7]The New York Times appreciated how "Kawakami's style traffics in brevity, giving us images distilled to their core, sentences that go directly to the heart" while also commending the book for its "brightness, a kind of love and familiarity."[8]
Some critics were mixed on the book's structure. The Asian Review of Books found that "the relationships between characters are remarkably strong" with particular emphasis on the relationship between the narrator and Kanae.[2] Waxwing Literary Journal argued that "the communal nature of the narration" helped bind the collection together.[9] Similarly, The Brooklyn Rail wrote that "It's this idea of community that is at the heart of this series of stories: over years and through events both strange and mundane, the narrator shows us the essential interconnectedness of life in her neighborhood and all those who live there."[10] The New Yorker found that the short stories exemplified the genre established by Kawabata's palm of the hand stories.[11] Meanwhile, the Chicago Review of Books lamented that "the collection lacks cohesion despite featuring recurring characters".[12]
References
edit- ^ "色彩豊かなご近所物語? 川上弘美著『このあたりの人たち』を英訳したテッド・グーセンさんに聞く――". 早稲田大学国際文学館アネックス (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ a b c Fincher, Alison (2020-11-14). ""People from My Neighborhood" by Kawakami Hiromi". Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "People from My Neighborhood". Soft Skull Press. 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "People From My Neighbourhood". Granta. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "2021 Shirley Jackson Award Winners – The Shirley Jackson Awards". Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ PEOPLE FROM MY NEIGHBORHOOD | Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ "People from My Neighborhood: Stories by Hiromi Kawakami". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ Peynado, Brenda (November 30, 2021). "Stories Anchored in Place, From Japan to the U.S.-Mexican Border". The New York Times.
- ^ "Waxwing Literary Journal: American writers & international voices". waxwingmag.org. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ "Hiromi Kawakami's People From My Neighborhood and Sequoia Nagamatsu's How High We Go in the Dark | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ Yorker, The New (2021-12-27). "Briefly Noted". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ Battaglia, Ian J. (2021-12-02). "Rumors, Aliens, and Disarray in "People From My Neighborhood"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 2024-10-26.