Asa tries to give her classmate a biscuit. Nami evades her classmates' playground game of acorn-throwing. Happy decides she's not interested in doing anything other than lying down on her sofa. Each of these three stories begins in a reasonable place-but by the end you'll find yourself in another world altogether.
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
"A bestselling, prizewinning novel of obsession and psychological intrigue about two enigmatic unmarried women, one of whom manipulates the other from afar, by one of Japan's most acclaimed young writers"-- Provided by publisher
"I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I've been wanting to become the friend of the Woman in the Purple Skirt for a very long time . . . The Woman in the Purple Skirt seems to live in a world of her own. She appears to glide through crowded streets without acknowledging any reaction her presence elicits. Each afternoon, she sits on the same park bench, eating a pastry and ignoring the local children who make a game of trying to get her attention. She may not know it, but the Woman in the Purple Skirt being watched. Someone is following her, always perched just out of sight, monitoring which buses she takes; what she eats; whom she speaks to. But this invisible observer isn't a stalker - no, it's much more complicated than that."--Provided by publisher