First published in Japan in 1988 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd.
Published in the US in 2023 by Counterpoint
COUNTERPOINT
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This edition first published in 2023
by Faber & Faber Limited
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This ebook edition first published in 2023
All rights reserved
© Banana Yoshimoto, 1988
Translation © Asa Yoneda, 2023
Cover design by Faber
The right of Banana Yoshimoto to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organisations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0–571–38232–3