The Briefcase

After many years, Tsukiko meets her teacher from school. In the beginning, they often meet by chance and go out to eat and drink beer or sake. Over time, these chance encounters become expected, and without planning, they meet regularly and enjoy food and drink together.

This is quite an unusual story. It's a gentle and quiet (love) story about two lonely souls: Tsukiko (38) and Sensei (a retired teacher who is 30 years older than her).

 

Goodreads

Details:

• author: Hiromi Kawakami
• full title: The Briefcase
  
• genre: literary fiction
• country: Japan
  
• format/type: booknonfiction
• topics: #loneliness, #friendship, #love
  
• publisher: Counterpoint
  
• publish date: April 10, 2012
• pages: 176
  

My Rating of the Book:

• content: 💙💙💙💙

Literary Prizes:

• Man Asian Literary Prize Nominee (2012),
• Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Nominee (2014),
• Tanizaki Prize 谷崎潤一郎賞 (2001)

About the Author: 

Kawakami Hiromi (川上弘美 Kawakami Hiromi) born April 1, 1958, is a Japanese writer known for her off-beat fiction.

Born in Tokyo, Kawakami graduated from Ochanomizu Women's College in 1980. She made her debut as "Yamada Hiromi" in NW-SF No. 16, edited by Yamano Koichi and Yamada Kazuko, in 1980 with the story So-shimoku ("Diptera"), and also helped edit some early issues of NW-SF in the 1970s. She reinvented herself as a writer and wrote her first book, a collection of short stories entitled God (Kamisama) published in 1994. Her novel The Teacher's Briefcase (Sensei no kaban) is a love story between a woman in her thirties and a man in his sixties. She is also known as a literary critic and a provocative essayist.

Other Works by this Author:

• People From My Neighbourhood
• The Nakano Thrift Shop
• Dragon Palace