• A major work of Japanese literature and winner of the Osaragi Jiro prize.
• Topically tied-in with Mizumura's much-read New York Times piece on elderly care, which garnered many comments.
• As life expectancy reaches an all-time high, more and more adults are finding themselves caring for their aging parents.
• A literary work that also explores the role that serialised fiction played in the evolution of modern Japanese fiction.
• Japanese fiction is extremely popular at the moment as seen through the success of Sayaka Murata and Hiromi Kawakami.