Banana Yoshimoto's warm, witty and heartfelt depictions of the lives of young Japanese have earned her international acclaim and best-seller status. In Hardboiled, the unnamed narrator, hiking in the mountains on the anniversary if her ex-lover's death, is haunted by her past and learn to make peace with her loss. Hard Luck is about another young woman whose sister lies in coma. AS she prepares to say good-bye ti her loved one, a new friendship promises hope. Yoshimoto's voice is clear, assured, and deeply moving, displaying again why she is one of Japan's, and world's, most beloved writers.

