The Lonesome Bodybuilder
By: Yukiko Motoya
3.59
Format: 224 pages, Paperback
A housewife takes up bodybuilding and sees radical changes to her physique--which her workaholic hu…
Want to Read $ 11.99"You must think you're really something. Calling yourself a phenomenon."-Yukiko Motoya, The Lonesome Bodybuilder
"Life’s not worth living if you’re not tending to the whims and demands of a high-maintenance lover!"-Yukiko Motoya, The Lonesome Bodybuilder
"When I woke up and looked in the mirror, I saw that my face had finally begun to forget who I was. I guessed my features had just been caught off guard that day. When I peered closer, they rushed to reassemble, as though to say, Oh, shit . But it was as if they couldn’t remember their original placement, and as a result, the final impression was a little off-kilter."-Yukiko Motoya, The Lonesome Bodybuilder
If you liked the magical realism plot in The Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya , here is a list of 9 books like this:
1. The Diving Pool: Three Novellas
By: Yōko Ogawa , Stephen Snyder , Stephen Snyder
3.69
Format: 164 pages, Paperback
From Akutagawa Award-winning author Yoko Ogawa comes a haunting trio of novellas about love, fertil… read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- japan
"I couldn't reach him from here even if I tried."-Yōko Ogawa, The Diving Pool: Three Novellas
"When we grow up, we find ways to hide our anxieties, our loneliness, our fear and sorrow. But children hide nothing, putting everything into their tears, which they spread liberally about for the who…"-Yōko Ogawa, The Diving Pool: Three Novellas
"Since that time, I've had many similar moments, and I can never hear the words "family" and "home" without feeling that they sound strange, never simply hear them and let them go. When I stop to exam…"-Yōko Ogawa, The Diving Pool: Three Novellas
"I wonder how she broke the news to her husband. I don't really know what they talk about when I'm not around. In fact, I don't really understand couples at all. They seem like some sort of inexplicab…"-Yōko Ogawa, The Diving Pool: Three Novellas
2. Ms Ice Sandwich
By: Mieko Kawakami , Louise Heal Kawai
3.78
Format: 92 pages, Paperback
A quixotic and funny tale about first love – from the Akutagawa Prize-winning author. Ms Ice San… read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- japan
3. Spring Garden
By: Tomoka Shibasaki , Polly Barton
3.27
Format: 161 pages, Kindle Edition
Winner of the Akutagawa Prize, a sharp, photo-realistic novella of memory and thwarted hope'He'd co… read more
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- asia
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
"Avoiding bother was Taro's governing principle. It wasn't that he was a stick-in-the-mud. It was just that, rather than putting himself out in order to get the more pleasing or interesting things he …"-Tomoka Shibasaki, Spring Garden
"His home town as it existed in his memory seemed distant to him, like something that belonged to another person. It was almost as though he'd mistaken a place he'd seen on TV or in a film for a thing…"-Tomoka Shibasaki, Spring Garden
4. The Nakano Thrift Shop: A Novel
By: Hiromi Kawakami , Allison Markin Powell
3.74
Format: 336 pages,
From the author of Strange Weather in Tokyo comes this funny, heartwarming story about love, life, … read more
Want to ReadSimilar categories in Hiromi Kawakami's The Nakano Thrift Shop: A Novel book and Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder
- asia
- fiction
- japanese literature
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
5. Hardboiled & Hard Luck
By: Banana Yoshimoto , Michael Emmerich
3.66
Format: 296 pages, Paperback
Banana Yoshimoto's warm, witty, and heartfelt depictions of the lives of young Japanese have earned… read more
Want to ReadSimilar categories in Banana Yoshimoto's Hardboiled & Hard Luck book and Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder
- magical realism
- asia
- short stories
- japanese literature
- fiction
- contemporary
- japan
6. Record of a Night Too Brief
By: Hiromi Kawakami , Lucy North
3.77
Format: None pages, Paperback
The Akutagawa Prize-winning stories from the author of Strange Weather in Tokyo. In these three hau… read more
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7. All the Lovers in the Night
By: Mieko Kawakami
3.72
Format: 224 pages, Hardcover
Fuyuko Irie is a freelance copy editor in her mid-thirties. Working and living alone in a city wher… read more
Want to Read $ 11.49Similar categories in Mieko Kawakami's All the Lovers in the Night book and Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder
- asia
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
- audiobook
"It only took me a couple of hours to realise that she was a woman of talents beyond anything I could imagine - even though I was a stranger to such talents myself."-Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night
"The light at night is special because the overwhelming light of day has left us, and the remaining half draws on everything it has to keep the world around us bright."-Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night
"When I felt sleepy I slept, and when I opened my eyes I got up, letting hunger dictate when to head to the fridge or kitchen cabinet to eat some of the things that I'd stocked up on. When supplies ra…"-Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night
"When I felt sleepy I slept, and when I opened my eyes I got up, letting hunger dictate when to head to the fridge or kitchen cabinet to eat some of the things that I'd stocked up on. When supplies ra…"-Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night
8. The Hole
By: Hiroko Oyamada
3.49
Format: 92 pages, Paperback
Asa’s husband is transferring jobs, and his new office is located near his family’s home in the cou… read more
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- magical realism
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- fantasy
- japan
"I moved out here with my husband."-Hiroko Oyamada, The Hole
"It's just, families are strange things, aren't they? You have this couple: one man, one woman. A male and a female, if you will. They mate, and why? To leave children behind. And what are the childre…"-Hiroko Oyamada, The Hole
"Abrí la ventana y oí a las cigarras cantar. No sé si era porque estaba en el campo y había muchos árboles o por la influencia del clima de ese año, pero nunca las había oído con tanta intensidad. Era…"-Hiroko Oyamada, The Hole
9. Life Ceremony
By: Sayaka Murata
3.75
Format: 256 pages, Hardcover
With Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stori… read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- japan
"Nowadays, your partner is not necessarily a sex object - this is a wonderful advancement."-Sayaka Murata, Life Ceremony
"I'm seeking an amicable daily routine with someone I get along well with, like brother and sister, without being a slave to sex"-Sayaka Murata, Life Ceremony
"Walking like this, feeling like a feral human, even machines and buildings were warm to the touch, and some emitted sounds and vibrations. Their presence was similar to the sounds emitted by life-for…"-Sayaka Murata, Life Ceremony
"If they tried it, the memories of the wild rooted in their flesh would come back to them, and they would discover that eating the city like this would connect the earth between the gaps in the concre…"-Sayaka Murata, Life Ceremony
10. The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino
By: Hiromi Kawakami
3.45
Format: 170 pages, Kindle Edition
Who loves Mr Nishino?Minami is the daughter of Mr Nishino's true love.Bereaved Shiori is tempted by… read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- japan
"People have the right to fall in love, but not the right to be loved."-Hiromi Kawakami, The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino
"Of course, everyone has a touch of madness in them. In fact, there’s something frightening about a person who isn’t a little crazy."-Hiromi Kawakami, The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino
"He had underestimated me. All along. Even though I had not underestimated him. But, how do you love someone without blinding yourself? Don’t we all have to indulge each other, let our guard down, and…"-Hiromi Kawakami, The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino
"I really just couldn’t think of anything. Absolutely nothing that I wanted to do. There were plenty of things that I don’t want to do. Like torment animals. Or be jealous of other people’s happiness.…"-Hiromi Kawakami, The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino
11. This is Amiko, Do You Copy?
By: Natsuko Imamura
3.63
Format: 122 pages, Paperback
Other people don’t seem to understand Amiko. Whether eating curry rice with her hands at school or … read more
Want to Read $ 9.59Similar categories in Natsuko Imamura's This is Amiko, Do You Copy? book and Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder
- asia
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
"Every time she cried, "I love you!" the words shattered her heart without mercy."-Natsuko Imamura, This is Amiko, Do You Copy?
12. Dragon Palace
By: Hiromi Kawakami
3.31
Format: 160 pages, Paperback
Included in The New Yorker's Best Books of 2023 From the bestselling author of Strange Weather i… read more
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- magical realism
- short stories
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- fantasy
- japan
13. Weasels in the Attic
By: Hiroko Oyamada
3.43
Format: 96 pages, Paperback
From the acclaimed author of The Hole and The Factory, a thrilling and mysterious work that explore… read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- japan
"We meet at school, or work, or maybe a store. Wherever it is, there's just a random group of individuals, right? Within that group, you find your mate. If you were in a different group, you' d end up…"-Hiroko Oyamada, Weasels in the Attic
14. The Woman in the Purple Skirt
By: Natsuko Imamura
3.28
Format: 224 pages, Hardcover
A bestselling, prizewinning novel of obsession and psychological intrigue about two enigmatic unmar… read more
Want to Read $ 13.99Similar categories in Natsuko Imamura's The Woman in the Purple Skirt book and Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder
- asia
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
- audiobook
15. Terminal Boredom: Stories
By: Izumi Suzuki
3.59
Format: 218 pages, Paperback
Seven punky and pitch-black stories offer English-language readers an overdue introduction to Izumi… read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- japan
- japanese literature
"INSUFFICIENT VEGETABLE OIL,’ quoth the replicator."-Izumi Suzuki, Terminal Boredom: Stories
"And having four kids? Giving birth to them naturally? What is she, an animal?"-Izumi Suzuki, Terminal Boredom: Stories
"When we first met, Reiko still had something of a wrecked beauty. Now, not even those ruins remained."-Izumi Suzuki, Terminal Boredom: Stories
"I’m a sucker for trends. I don’t have much in the way of agency. I always want to try whatever’s popular."-Izumi Suzuki, Terminal Boredom: Stories
16. Nails and Eyes
By: Kaori Fujino
3.43
Format: 138 pages, Paperback
Tense, subtly disturbing Japanese literary horror perfect for fans of The Memory Police, Tender is … read more
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- short stories
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
"As a woman, Shoko is extremely petite, but as a heart, she is wondrously large."-Kaori Fujino, Nails and Eyes
"Maybe she suddenly had a deathwish, the way some people fall in love at first sight."-Kaori Fujino, Nails and Eyes
"There were always going to be people who loved you and people who hated you, no matter what you did, so why let anything trouble you?"-Kaori Fujino, Nails and Eyes
"You felt that your life would always be this way. Not as one day going by, and then another, but life as an ever-expanding single day. And yet, time did go by."-Kaori Fujino, Nails and Eyes
17. Diary of a Void
By: Emi Yagi
3.51
Format: 213 pages, Hardcover
A prizewinning, thrillingly subversive debut novel about a woman in Japan who avoids harassment at … read more
Want to Read $ 5.99Similar categories in Emi Yagi's Diary of a Void book and Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder
- asia
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
- audiobook
"Having a baby isn't easy. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. It's been two thousand years, and it's the same old story, right?"-Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void
"I'm always so alone. I guess I should be used to it by now. That's the way it is from the moment we come into this world, but I'm still not used to it - how alone we all are."-Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void
"Maybe that's making a family is all about: creating an environment in which people make space for one another - maybe without even trying, just naturally, to make sure that nobody's forgotten."-Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void
"Until they arrived, while everyone else was transitioning to winter, putting on coats and sweaters, I was going to stick with my summer dress and my usual work blazer. Dressed in the dazzling flowers…"-Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void
18. The Premonition
By: Banana Yoshimoto
3.43
Format: 133 pages, Hardcover
The internationally beloved author of Kitchen and Dead-End Memories returns with a beautiful and he… read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- japan
"I'd never known a love before that could blot out the world around like this."-Banana Yoshimoto, The Premonition
"Later, for the first time in a very long time, I heard my aunt play the piano. Its tone was soft, and just like I remembered it. At the kitchen window one overcast afternoon, I watched its beautiful …"-Banana Yoshimoto, The Premonition
19. Territory of Light
By: Yūko Tsushima
3.59
Format: 122 pages, Paperback
Territory of Light is the luminous story of a young woman, living alone in Tokyo with her three-yea… read more
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- asia
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
"Why were children the only ones who ever got to melt down?"-Yūko Tsushima, Territory of Light
"During the night, there had been a sound of water on the other side of the wall. In my sleep I was looking out from the fourth-floor bedroom at nearby buildings bathed in rain, gleaming with neon and…"-Yūko Tsushima, Territory of Light
20. Rental Person Who Does Nothing
By: Shoji Morimoto
3.34
Format: 160 pages, ebook
Need a rental person who does nothing? Shoji Morimoto provides a fascinating service to the lone… read more
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- asia
- japanese literature
- japan
- asian literature
- audiobook
"– that people have a value even if they do nothing."-Shoji Morimoto, Rental Person Who Does Nothing
"I felt comfortable in a community that existed just for the moment, with simple, temporary relationships uncomplicated by past or future."-Shoji Morimoto, Rental Person Who Does Nothing
21. Your Utopia
By: Bora Chung
3.65
Format: 256 pages, Paperback
By the internationally acclaimed author of Cursed Bunny, in another thrilling translation from the … read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- audiobook
22. Where the Wild Ladies Are
By: Aoko Matsuda
3.78
Format: 288 pages, Paperback
In this witty and exuberant collection of feminist retellings of traditional Japanese folktales, hu… read more
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- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- japanese literature
- asian literature
- fantasy
- japan
"He who speaks of love must do so with courage."-Aoko Matsuda, Where the Wild Ladies Are
"When they are truly into something, they are absolutely single-minded in their fixation. They give it all they have. They throw heaps of money at it, research it endlessly, and do whatever seems nece…"-Aoko Matsuda, Where the Wild Ladies Are
"How unfair society was! Male employees had to pretend to be capable of doing things they couldn't do, while female employees had to pretend to be incapable of doing things they actually could do. Ove…"-Aoko Matsuda, Where the Wild Ladies Are
"Previously she'd lacked confidence and was forever putting out feelers to the people around her to gauge what they were thinking, but these days she gave out an almost authoritative aura, as if to si…"-Aoko Matsuda, Where the Wild Ladies Are
23. The Factory
By: Hiroko Oyamada
3.34
Format: 116 pages, Paperback
The English-language debut of Hiroko Oyamada—one of the most powerfully strange young voices in Jap… read more
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- magical realism
- japanese literature
- fiction
- contemporary
- fantasy
- japan
"As I opened the basement-level door, I thought I could smell birds."-Hiroko Oyamada, The Factory
"I didn’t have to answer any weird questions about what I was reading, or hear anyone’s thoughts about which 7-Eleven bento they liked best."-Hiroko Oyamada, The Factory
"All I could see was a meaningless arrangement of squiggles and dots, symbols and patterns, running on endlessly. Words are such unstable things."-Hiroko Oyamada, The Factory
"Life has nothing to do with work and work has no real bearing on life. I used to think they were connected, but now I can see there’s just no way."-Hiroko Oyamada, The Factory
24. People From My Neighbourhood
By: Hiromi Kawakami
3.53
Format: 121 pages, Paperback
From the author of the internationally bestselling Strange Weather in Tokyo, a collection of interl… read more
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- magical realism
- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- fantasy
- japan
"Even the smallest hole is enough to send a balloon spiraling to the ground. The falsification of memory is like that. All it takes is one individual who remembers the truth, said Romi, for the whole …"-Hiromi Kawakami, People From My Neighbourhood
25. Dead-End Memories: Stories
By: Banana Yoshimoto
3.90
Format: 240 pages, Hardcover
Japan's internationally celebrated master storyteller returns with five stories of women on their w… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Banana Yoshimoto's Dead-End Memories: Stories book and Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder
- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- japan
- audiobook
"There was a candor about him I noticed in people whose parents had given them something unconditional and absolute growing up."-Banana Yoshimoto, Dead-End Memories: Stories
"Time simply floated open and started to expand. Time held the two of us in light, inside a space so vast it might have reached the heavens, and turned eternal."-Banana Yoshimoto, Dead-End Memories: Stories
"Anyone seeing us would have thought we were newlyweds, or a nice cohabiting couple. But we were only two people, a little regretful, and soon to part. We were having so much fun. It made me sad."-Banana Yoshimoto, Dead-End Memories: Stories
"The words I read in books seemed to strike me more deeply, and with my senses sharpened by grief, I noticed the glittering transition of the seasons as clearly as if I held the grief in the palm of m…"-Banana Yoshimoto, Dead-End Memories: Stories
26. Mild Vertigo
By: Mieko Kanai
3.55
Format: 176 pages, Paperback
Housewife Natsumi leads a small, unremarkable life in a modern Tokyo apartment with her husband and… read more
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- asia
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
27. Asa: The Girl Who Turned into a Pair of Chopsticks
By: Natsuko Imamura
3.47
Format: 208 pages, Paperback
The startling first collection of dark, surreal, and unsettling stories from the international priz… read more
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- magical realism
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- japan
- audiobook
28. Harlequin Butterfly
By: Toh EnJoe
3.37
Format: 105 pages, Paperback
A surreal novella about the global pursuit of a mysterious writer who somehow writes in dozens of l… read more
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- magical realism
- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- japanese literature
- japan
29. The Lonesome Bodybuilder
By: Yukiko Motoya
3.59
Format: 224 pages, Paperback
A housewife takes up bodybuilding and sees radical changes to her physique--which her workaholic hu… read more
Want to Read $ 11.99Similar categories in Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder book and Yukiko Motoya's The Lonesome Bodybuilder
- magical realism
- asia
- short stories
- fiction
- contemporary
- asian literature
- japanese literature
- fantasy
- japan
- audiobook
"You must think you're really something. Calling yourself a phenomenon."-Yukiko Motoya, The Lonesome Bodybuilder
"Life’s not worth living if you’re not tending to the whims and demands of a high-maintenance lover!"-Yukiko Motoya, The Lonesome Bodybuilder
"When I woke up and looked in the mirror, I saw that my face had finally begun to forget who I was. I guessed my features had just been caught off guard that day. When I peered closer, they rushed to …"-Yukiko Motoya, The Lonesome Bodybuilder
30. Hit Parade of Tears
By: Izumi Suzuki
3.43
Format: 288 pages, Paperback
A new collection of stories from the cult author of Terminal Boredom. Izumi Suzuki had ideas abo… read more
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- magical realism
- short stories
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- fantasy
- japan
- audiobook
"Love isn't like a house you can just kick back and live in once its completed. No, it gets more worn and tattered day by day, unless you keep on making it up."-Izumi Suzuki, Hit Parade of Tears
31. People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice: Stories
By: Ao Omae
3.22
Format: 176 pages, Hardcover
A fresh, thoughtful, and always surprising short story collection from a rising young star in the w… read more
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- short stories
- japanese literature
- fiction
- asian literature
- contemporary
- japan
- audiobook
