Akiko's Quiet Happiness
The Japan Trilogy, Vol. 1
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jan 27, 2026
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- $12.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Two lonely former classmates reconnect in Tokyo and unravel a family secret in this touching new novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats.
Still grieving the death of her mother, 29-year-old Akiko is single and lives in self-imposed isolation in Tokyo. Then one evening, she unexpectedly runs into Kento, her first love from school. Kento now leads a reclusive life as a hikikomori, only venturing out at night.
At the same time, Akiko discovers evidence that her mother had been lying to her about their family, causing her to doubt everything. She has to admit to herself that she doesn’t know who she is.
With Kento’s help, Akiko embarks on a journey into her own history, which takes her life in surprising directions and leads her to questions she had never dared to ask herself before: How do I want to live? And do I have the courage to love?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sendker (The Art of Hearing Heartbeats) offers a tender depiction of a lonely 29-year-old Tokyo accountant drifting through life in the wake of her mother's death. Akiko isn't sure she knows herself or even likes herself enough to pull off a stunt like the one staged by her self-absorbed colleague, who "married herself" to avoid remaining single at 30. Akiko is also struck when former classmate Kento, a former child piano prodigy, praises Akiko's writing, prompting her to wonder if she should quit her job and pursue her early passion. Akiko's thoughts on love and her vocation are further destabilized when she learns from poring through her mother's paperwork that the man who often visited her in her youth was not her real father but a "rental father" her mother paid to play the role. In the novel's poignant and vivid conclusion, Akiko and Kento take the train to a seaside region she once visited with her mother. There, Akiko and Kento release her mother's ashes into the ocean, and each consider their potential for a new life. The result is a cinematic work of rich emotional depth.
