This multi-layered novel set in Japan is a story of friendship, courage and the power of memories.

Literary fiction

Sára Fukuharová, born to a Czech mother and a Japanese father, lives in Yokohama and is doing research on the Japanese eel, a species which is dying out. Her few friends include Mr. Nakajima, the owner of the house in which she lives, and neighbour Miju, who can’t take a step without her wooden sword and spends hours talking to Unagi the eel. This peaceful life is turned upside down by the visit of Yuka Suzuki, Sára’s former classmate from school, who is searching for a missing colleague from the editorial office of the newspaper where she works. Long forgotten events emerge from the past, and all three women embark on a journey that presents them with one life challenge after another.

Anna Cima (1991) was born in Prague and studied Japanese Studies at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University. She currently lives in Japan, where she is focusing on post-war Japanese literature. Her first novel, I Wake up in Shibuya (2018), received an enthusiastic response from both readers and critics. It also won a number of awards, including the Jiří Orten Award and the 2019 Magnesia Litera Award for Discovery of the Year. In addition to writing, Anna Cima also translates from Japanese.