A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as...

"When thirty-four-year-old Ms. Shibata gets a new job in Tokyo to escape sexual harassment at her old one, she finds that, as the only woman at her new workplace -- a company that manufactures cardboard tubes -- she is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she can't clear away her colleagues' dirty cups because she's pregnant and the smell nauseates her. The only thing is... Ms. Shibata is not pregnant. Pregnant Ms. Shibata...

"Two sisters--Eri, a fashion model sleeping her way to oblivion, and Mari, a young student--form the center of a novel that documents a series of encounters in Tokyo during the witching hours between midnight and dawn."

"Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura's prearranged marriage to the son of her father's business associate would secure her family's status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man--an American sailor, a gaijin--and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it's learned Naoko carries the sailor's child, she's cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences...

"To pursue missed chances at love and success, 31-year-old Chikage Deguchi takes an experimental drug that changes her appearance back to how she looked at age 15. Hanami has left Tokita at the altar. As Tokita deals with the fallout, Haru takes the opportunity to woo Chikage."-- cover page 4.

When the pandemic hits, Kristofer is forced to shutter his successful restaurant in Reykjavik, sending him into a spiral of uncertainty, even as his memory seems to be failing. But an uncanny bolt from the blue, a message from Miko Nakamura, a woman whom he'd known in the sixties when they were students in London, both inspires and rattles him, as he is drawn inexorably back into a love story that has marked him for life. Even as the pandemic upends...

"Saku is looking forward to spending her New Year's holiday vegging out and eating Yukichi's delicious home cooking, but that plan goes out the window when her mom calls, demanding that Saku come visit! Saku doesn't want to leave Yukichi home alone, so she decides to bring him with her! But how will she hide her giant cat from her parents?!"--Back cover.

"Saku's been able to skip the biennial company retreat every time so far, but not this year! While she's out, her cat Yukichi will be watching the house, of course, but how long can Saku go without Yukichi's meal and warmth? And while Yukichi appears nonchalant about sending Saku off, how does he actually feel? The messy office worker and skillful cat are spending their first night apart, and boy, are they in for a long one!"--Provided by publisher....

"Nishina is a part-timer at the supermarket near Saku and Yukichi and has run into them a few times. One day, she faints from overwork and lack of sleep. When Saku takes her to home to rest, it turns out that Nishina's home is a total mess-almost as bad as Saku's place before she took in Yukichi! Saku can't bear to leave Nishina in these conditions, which means it's time to call in the one and only masterful cat, Yukichi!!"--Back cover.