Tokyo Ueno Station

Awarded the 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature and recognized as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, this novel presents a haunting tale set in one of Tokyo's busiest regions. It follows the ghostly existence of Kazu, a man born in Fukushima in 1933, the same year as the Japanese Emperor. His life is intricately woven with Japan's modern history and the Imperial family due to a series of coincidences. However, plagued by misfortune, Kazu never finds peace and instead lingers restlessly in the park near Ueno Station in Tokyo. His life's journey in Tokyo began when he worked as a laborer preparing for the 1964 Olympics and ended when he lived among the homeless in the park, his spirit broken by the 2011 tsunami and the announcement of the 2020 Olympics. Through Kazu's perspective, we witness the bustling life of Tokyo and delve into his deeply personal story—touched by loss and societal inequality—which ultimately leads to his spectral existence, with glimpses of beauty and grace perpetually elusive. "Tokyo Ueno Station" by one of Japan's most acclaimed outsider authors offers a profound insight into marginalized life within a thriving global city.