As misheard by one of the characters, " a lot of people," is "Lala Pipo."Lala Pipo is an ingenious tapestry of absurdity, whose cast of unlikable characters cross the line of good taste thateven those who have crossed the line cannot help but notice. Each act pushes the envelope past the one preceding it. It's like an episode of Seinfeld directed by Bob Guccione, all the story elements cleverly weaving together, taking the reader from shock to gut-busting hilarity with each tale. The main difference: these losers are X-rated.

    This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers who have helped shape our world today, from anarchists to stoics, feminists to prophets, satirists to Zen Buddhists.

    Award-winning Japanese author Shion Miura’s novel is a reminder that a life dedicated to passion is a life well lived.Inspired as a boy by the multiple meanings to be found for a single word in the dictionary, Kohei Araki is devoted to the notion that a dictionary is a boat to carry us across the sea of words. But after thirty-seven years creating them at Gembu Books, it’s time for him to retire and find his replacement.He discovers a kindred spirit in Mitsuya Majime—a young, disheveled square peg with a penchant for collecting antiquarian books and a background in linguistics—whom he swipes from his company’s sales department.Led by his new mentor and joined by an energetic, if reluctant, new recruit and an elder linguistics scholar, Majime is tasked with a career-defining accomplishment: completing The Great Passage, a comprehensive 2,900-page tome of the Japanese language. On his journey, Majime discovers friendship, romance, and an incredible dedication to his work, inspired by the bond that connects us all: words.

    Especially when it's shaped cutely! One day she decides to apply for a job at St. Molly's bread store, but when she gets there, the person who hires her on is a cute boy her age! Although he makes fun of Miko's clumsiness, he seems to be genuinely kind. But when they find out they're neighbors, they grow even closer.

    Musashi fought his first duel to the death when he was 13, killing a veteran warrior more than twice his age. By the time he was 29 he had killed over 60 other warriors in death duels and was a legend in his own time.Just before he died, Musashi recorded his philosophy, strategies, and tactics in a short treatise entitled Go Rin Sho "The Book of Five Rings". Samurai Strategies has extracted the fundamentals of Musashi's tactics from this esoteric little book and explains them here in the modern context of business, politics, and war. Musashi's strategies for winning are as valid today as they were in seventeenth century Japan and provide valuable insights for anyone in any field of endeavor--from business, war, and sports to the fields of art, love, and politics.

    Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Yoshida Kenko (c. 1283-1352). Kenko's work is included in Penguin Classics in Essays in Idleness and Hojoki.

    Tens of thousands of civilians perished on the dreaded Hukwang Valley trail, dubbed later by the American General Stilwell as 'the path to hell'. Colin's extraordinary journey takes him from his birthplace in Burma to Britain, and on to Bowral in NSW.

    But nothing could have prepared him for the heartache he feels when he falls hopelessly in love with a Japanese girl named Sakurai. Immersed in their shared love for classical music and foreign movies, the two gradually grow closer and closer.One night, after being hit by personal tragedy, Sugihara reveals to Sakurai that he is not Japanese—as his name might indicate.Torn between a chance at self-discovery that he’s ready to seize and the prejudices of others that he can’t control, Sugihara must decide who he wants to be and where he wants to go next. Will Sakurai be able to confront her own bias and accompany him on his journey?

    Rahna Reiko Rizzuto reveals the reason for her act--and its effect on four generations of her family--in a series of alternating narratives. A son, daughter, mother, and brother all chime in, and the author's sophisticated interweaving of their tales is what gives this debut novel much of its power.Rizzuto's book includes its share of violent and disturbing incidents. A daughter helps her mother give birth on the floor of a shack; a son accompanies his senile grandfather to the toilet; a brother delivers a swift kick to his pregnant sister's belly. Yet Why She Left Us never relies on mere sensationalism. For one thing, the author's prose is strong and vivid, and she's particularly good at evoking the passage of time: "My life doesn't come to me in any order," notes one character. "Moments flip-flop, overlap--sometimes they come only in splinters." This isn't, it should be said, a big-canvas portrait of wartime life. But Rizzuto has produced a minute and successful investigation of the moments that define what a family is.That leaves the initial mystery. To her credit, Rizzuto doesn't come up with a pat solution: instead, she offers up a collage of perceptions, which fuse into a kind of answer as the story progresses. In other words, this is the latest addition to a growing canon of diplomatic, Rashomon-like novels. Why She Left Us is a true study in perspectives--and a kaleidoscopic lesson about the nature of memory and forgiveness. --Rucker Alex, Amazon.com Review

    26 pages of summaries and analysis on Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

    But like those same customers and staff, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the signs of innumerable extravagancies, of immeasurable pleasure and pain, and of the deep mysteries of the human heart.Hitomi, the inexperienced young woman who works the register at Mr. Nakano's thrift shop, has fallen for her coworker, the oddly reserved Takeo. Unsure of how to attract his attention, she seeks advice from her employer's sister, Masayo, whose sentimental entanglements make her a somewhat unconventional guide. But thanks in part to Masayo, Hitomi will come to realize that love, desire, and intimacy require acceptance not only of idiosyncrasies but also of the delicate waltz between open and hidden secrets.Animating each delicately rendered chapter in Kawakami's playful novel is Mr. Nakano himself, an original, entertaining, and enigmatic creation whose compulsive mannerisms, secretive love life, and impulsive behavior defy all expectations.

    Thus, she’s had to grow up in a “foster home” of sorts, and was raised by nuns. On her 16th birthday, Aria recieves a present in the mail– a ring from her “Daddy-long-legs” (a man who protects someone from afar while they’re growing up)! All of a sudden Aria’s life is thrown into chaos. Men try to run her over with cars, shoot her, and kidnap her. Relief comes in the form of Canon, who claims he’s her bodyguard. But can he keep Aria safe forever?

    Osamu Dazai’s The Setting Sun takes this milieu as its background to tell the story of the decline of a minor aristocratic family.The story is told through the eyes of Kazuko, the unmarried daughter of a widowed aristocrat. Her search for self meaning in a society devoid of use for her forms the crux of Dazai’s novel. It is a sad story, and structurally is a novel very much within the confines of the Japanese take on the novel in a way reminiscent of authors such as Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata – the social interactions are peripheral and understated, nuances must be drawn, and for readers more used to Western novelistic forms this comes across as being rather wishy-washy.Kazuko’s mother falls ill, and due to their financial circumstances they are forced to take a cottage in the countryside. Her brother, who became addicted to opium during the war is missing. When he returns, Kazuko attempts to form a liaison with the novelist Uehara. This romantic displacement only furthers to deepen her alienation from society.

    Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are classmates and ninja-in-training working together (sort of) toward a common goal: to become the greatest ninja in the land! But Naruto Uzumaki is no ordinary ninja student. For deep in his body is sealed the spirit of a terrible demon known as the Nine-Tailed Fox!It was supposed to be just an ordinary, C-rank assigment--but nothing about ninjutsu is as simple as it seems...Squad Seven's latest job is a real snore--escorting a young, cowardly leader named Shibuki back to the remote Hidden Waterfall Village. They arrive without a problem, but get stuck cleaning the village pond! While Naruto and his pals pick up the trash, Kakashi is called back to his home village on urgent business.Then, without warning, a brilliant rogue ninja shows up in tow with his evil henchmen. Suien desperately desires the Hidden Waterfall's most precious possession, a secret potion called the Hero's Water. And as Squad Seven quickly discovers, the guy will do absolutely anything to get it! With their fearless sensei gone, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura find themselves in the most deadly situation of their young lives.A special Naruto adventure previously available only on DVD--now an action-packed novel!

    A couple in their thirties live in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo; they work at home, freelance copy-editing; they no longer have very much to say to one another. But one day a cat invites itself into their small kitchen. It leaves, but the next day comes again, and then again and again. Soon they are buying treats for the cat and enjoying talks about the animal and all its little ways. Life suddenly seems to have more promise for the husband and wife — the days have more light and color. The novel brims with new small joys and many moments of staggering poetic beauty, but then something happens….As Kenzaburo Oe has remarked, Takashi Hiraide’s work "really shines." His poetry, which is remarkably cross-hatched with beauty, has been acclaimed here for "its seemingly endless string of shape-shifting objects and experiences,whose splintering effect is enacted via a unique combination of speed and minutiae."