Shion Miura

A charmingly warm and hopeful story of love, friendship, and the power of human connection. Award-winning Japanese author Shion Miura's novel is a reminder that a life dedicated to passion is a life well lived. Inspired as a boy by the multiple meanings to be found for a single word in the dictionary, Kohei Araki is devoted to the notion that a dictionary is a boat to carry us across the sea of words. But after thirty-seven years creating them at Gembu Books, it's time for him to retire and find his replacement. He discovers a kindred spirit in Mitsuya Majime--a young, disheveled square peg with a penchant for collecting antiquarian books and a background in linguistics--whom he swipes from his company's sales department. Led by his new mentor and joined by an energetic, if reluctant, new recruit and an elder linguistics scholar, Majime is tasked with a career-defining accomplishment: completing The Great Passage, a comprehensive 2,900-page tome of the Japanese language. On his journey, Majime discovers friendship, romance, and an incredible dedication to his work, inspired by the bond that connects us all: words. An Earphones Award Winner, Fiction

The Great Passage

From Shion Miura, the award-winning author of The Great Passage, comes a rapturous novel where the contemporary and the traditional meet amid the splendor of Japan's mountain way of life. Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. No phone, no internet, no shopping. Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is "take it easy." At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life. But as resistant as he might be, the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull. Yuki learns to fell trees and plant saplings. He begins to embrace local festivals, he's mesmerized by legends of the mountain, and he might be falling in love. In learning to respect the forest on Mt. Kamusari for its majestic qualities and its inexplicable secrets, Yuki starts to appreciate Kamusari's harmony with nature and its ancient traditions. In this warm and lively coming-of-age story, Miura transports us from the trappings of city life to the trials, mysteries, and delights of a mythical mountain forest.

The Easy Life in Kamusari

Kamusari Tales Told at Night

Run With The Wind

Merakit kapal

Haruko Kumota

La grande traversata

Kaze ga tsuyoku fuite iru

"Employé d'une maison d'édition, Majimé est missionné pour un projet titanesque, éditer le plus grand dictionnaire du japonais. A 27 ans, le jeune homme est aussi maladroit avec les gens qu'habile avec les mots. Sous le charme de la petite-fille de sa logeuse, il reçoit le soutien de ses collègues qui l'aident à vaincre sa timidité pour lui faire part de ses sentiments."--BAnQ.

La grande traversée

La gran travesía

Fune o amu

Das ist ein Schock für Yuki: Seine Mutter schiebt ihn in die Provinz ab. Ausgerechnet bei der Forstarbeit soll er helfen! Und in dem Kaff Kamusari gibt es noch nicht mal Handyempfang. Ganz zu schweigen davon, dass die Dörfler ständig „Naaa, passt schon“ sagen. Das nervt einfach nur. Aber im Laufe seines unfreiwilligen sozialen Jahrs erfährt Yuki, was Schneeschütteln ist und warum die Reisbälle in Kamusari so groß sind. Er erlebt das „Fest des Berggottes“, bei dem man auf einem Zedernstamm ins Tal rast. Wird er jetzt etwa selbst zum Provinz-Ei? Die „Naaa, passt schon“-Einstellung ist eigentlich gar nicht so verkehrt, findet Yuki.

Shion Miura

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