A Perfect Day to Be Alone

Description

A Perfect Day to Be Alone
by Nanae Aoyama

ISBN: 9781635425390
Softcover, new
Publication Date: 2/11/2025

Brief Description:
The English-language debut of a prize-winning Japanese author, this
touching, subtly funny novel evokes the daily struggles and hopes of two
women from different generations. When her mother emigrates to China for
work, 20-year-old Chizu moves in with 71-year-old Ginko, an eccentric
distant relative, taking a room in her ramshackle Tokyo home, with its two
resident cats and the persistent rattle of passing trains. Living their
lives in imperfect symmetry, they establish an uneasy alliance, stress
tested by Chizu’s flashes of youthful spite. As the four seasons pass,
Chizu navigates a series of tedious part-time jobs and unsatisfying
relationships, before eventually finding her feet and salvaging a fierce
independence from her solitude. A Perfect Day to Be Alone is a moving,
microscopic examination of loneliness and heartbreak. With flashes of
deadpan humor and a keen eye for poignant detail, Aoyama chronicles the
painful process of breaking free from the moorings of youth.