The Premonition
Complex
Intense
Simple

The Premonition A Novel

The internationally beloved author of Kitchen and Dead-End Memories returns with a beautiful and heartfelt story of a young woman haunted by her childhood and the inescapable bitterness that inevitably comes from knowing the truth Yayoi, a nineteen-year-old woman from a seemingly loving middle-class family, has lately been haunted by the feeling that she has forgotten something important from her childhood. Her premonition grows stronger day by day and, as if led by it, she decides to move in with her mysterious aunt, Yukino. No one understands her aunt’s unusual lifestyle. For as long as Yayoi can remember, Yukino has lived alone in an old gloomy single-family home, quietly, almost as though asleep. When she is not working, Yukino spends all day in her pajamas, clipping her nails and trimming her split ends. She eats only when she feels like it, and she often falls asleep lying on her side in the hallway. She sometimes wakes Yayoi at two in the morning to be her drinking companion, sometimes serves flan in a huge mixing bowl for dinner, and watches Friday the 13th over and over to comfort herself. A study desk, old stuffed animals––things Yukino wants to forget––are piled up in her backyard like a graveyard of her memories. An instant bestseller in Japan when first published in 1988, The Premonition is finally available for the first time in English, translated by the celebrated Asa Yoneda.
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Reviews

Photo of Thea Sophie
Thea Sophie@eatchipsandcry
3 stars
Aug 13, 2025
Photo of Milo
Milo@mossreads
2.5 stars
Jun 21, 2025
This review contains a spoiler
Emotional
Contemplative
Photo of lauren
lauren@chauren
4 stars
Jun 17, 2025
Photo of miu
miu@sorvalz
4 stars
Dec 20, 2024
Photo of sha
sha@regressor
2.5 stars
Oct 13, 2024
Photo of Mario Menti
Mario Menti @mario
5 stars
Mar 24, 2024
Photo of joana ashley
joana ashley@whaliensong
4 stars
Mar 7, 2024
Complex
Surreal
Fascinating
Photo of v
v@heartcolored
1 star
Feb 11, 2024
This review contains a spoiler
Photo of karina
karina@sunbeam
3.5 stars
Feb 7, 2024
Simple
Original
Photo of Elisa
Elisa@lisetoile
Photo of shuf
shuf@syaffreads
4 stars
Jan 8, 2024
Photo of Rana Sulieman
Rana Sulieman@rsullie17
2 stars
Jan 3, 2024
Photo of Air
Air@airhorn
4 stars
Dec 27, 2023
Simple
Charming
Meaningful
Photo of Diana
Diana @perdiana
2 stars
Nov 8, 2021
Photo of Isabel
Isabel @booklover89
3 stars
Jul 3, 2025
Photo of amy isabella
amy isabella@bbyhcomb
4.5 stars
Mar 20, 2025
Photo of Trisa P
Trisa P@trisaprmt
2.5 stars
Feb 27, 2025
Photo of joa
joa@ilybyoshimoto
3 stars
Nov 2, 2024
Photo of mitha
mitha@mithasab
4 stars
Aug 1, 2024
Photo of Harriet Langan
Harriet Langan@harrietlangan
2 stars
Mar 19, 2024
Photo of 𓆨
𓆨@viridiantre
2 stars
Mar 15, 2024
Photo of Toni P
Toni P@tonitsoni
3.5 stars
Jan 19, 2024
Enigmatic
Comforting
Controversial
Photo of junginie
junginie@jungiinie
3.5 stars
Jan 11, 2024
Photo of lin
lin@081115
4.5 stars
Jan 11, 2024

Highlights

Photo of joana ashley
joana ashley@whaliensong
Page 107
Photo of joana ashley
joana ashley@whaliensong
Page 91
Photo of joana ashley
joana ashley@whaliensong
Page 98
Photo of Elisa
Elisa@lisetoile
Page 5
Photo of Elisa
Elisa@lisetoile
Page 3