Touring the Land of the Dead (Paperback)

"While Kashimada's stories, like Murakami's, resist easy interpretation, the former revel in the beauty of experience, whether sorrowful or joyous, affirming life in all its strangeness, horror and mystery." * TLS *
Fiction to look out for in 2021 "Magical Japanese novel: Maki Kashimada's Touring the Land of the Dead asks whether places are haunted by their own past." * The Guardian *
"Two polished novellas, though different in mood, probe family relationships with insight and elegance." * Tatler *
"Kashimada's writing is exceptional; this collection is dark and suffocating. It is part of a trend in Japan of female authors rewriting traditional and well-loved stories through a feminist lens, and is a welcome addition to the works by Japanese women being translated into English." * The Spectator *
"A spare and profound story, beautifully translated." * Waterstones *
"The tense disquiet that hangs over the work has a unique charm. This is a world that only Kashimada could have depicted." -- Yoko Ogawa
"While difficult to pin down, this novel is particularly compelling. This sense of sincerity comes, I think, not from the strength of the emotions put into the novel, but rather from the author's writing style, and is a credit to her craftsmanship." -- Hiromi Kawakami
"An intriguing introduction to a significant voice in contemporary Japanese fiction." * Kirkus Reviews *
"Kashimada is a writer who brings something truly rich." -- Nikkei
"Maki Kashimada writes about one woman's trauma with razor-perfect concision and an austere beauty." * Asian Review of Books *
"It's fair to make comparisons here with Hiromi Kawakami's Strange Weather in Tokyo and Yoko Ogawa's The Housekeeper and the Professor, and Kashimada's tale is a similar example of an unusual love story that simply works..." * Tony's Reading List *