Hardboiled & Hard Luck
Easy read
Emotional
Sweet

Hardboiled & Hard Luck

A pair of thematically linked novellas from the acclaimed author of Lizard, Amrita, and Goodbye Tsugumi. In cherished novels such as Kitchen and Goodbye Tsugumi, Banana Yoshimoto’s warm, witty, and heartfelt depictions of the lives of young Japanese have earned her international acclaim and bestseller status. Her insightful, spare vision returns in two novellas possessed by the ghosts of love found and lost. In Hardboiled, the unnamed narrator is hiking in the mountains on an anniversary she has forgotten about, the anniversary of her ex-lover’s death. As she nears her hotel—stopping on the way at a hillside shrine and a strange soba shop—a sense of haunting falls over her. Perhaps these eerie events will help her make peace with her loss. Hard Luck is about another young woman, whose sister is dying and lies in a coma. Kuni’s fiancé left her after the accident, but his brother Sakai continues to visit, and the two of them gradually grow closer as they make peace with the impending loss of their loved one. Yoshimoto’s voice is clear, assured, and deeply moving, displaying again why she is one of Japan’s, and the world’s, most beloved writers. “A sparkling book.” —The Washington Post
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Reviews

Photo of Bibi
Bibi@lotusroot
5 stars
Jul 10, 2025
Pure
Surreal
Emotional
Photo of lara
lara@soupyheart
4 stars
May 6, 2025
Sweet
Easy read
Emotional
Photo of mira lee
mira lee@miralee
4 stars
Mar 24, 2024
Sweet
Easy read
Photo of Brook
Brook@brook
5 stars
Jun 9, 2021
Photo of aywen
aywen@aywen
3.5 stars
Jun 12, 2025
Photo of miu
miu@sorvalz
4 stars
May 28, 2025
Photo of Camelia.
Camelia. @aerchviel
3 stars
Apr 26, 2025
Photo of Erika Monti
Erika Monti @ninn0li
4 stars
Oct 18, 2024
Photo of asha
asha@ashabella
4 stars
Oct 17, 2024
Photo of Mario Menti
Mario Menti @mario
5 stars
Sep 28, 2024
Photo of Simona Paunova
Simona Paunova@simonapaunova
4 stars
Nov 29, 2023
Photo of maia
maia@wuthering
3.5 stars
Jan 24, 2023
Deep
Emotional
Expressive
Photo of Ash Hoe
Ash Hoe@ash
5 stars
Aug 13, 2021

Highlights

Photo of aywen
aywen@aywen
Photo of miu
miu@sorvalz
Photo of maia
maia@wuthering
Photo of maia
maia@wuthering
Photo of maia
maia@wuthering
Photo of maia
maia@wuthering
Photo of maia
maia@wuthering
Photo of maia
maia@wuthering
Photo of maia
maia@wuthering