Inhalt: _Yoshimoto hits some of the same notes that a previous generation's literary masters (say, Kawabata or Tanizaki) might sound, and yet the effect seems artless, spontaneous and wonderfully fresh." —Los Angeles Times Book ReviewBanana Yoshimoto's warm, witty, and heartfelt depictions of the lives of young Japanese have earned her international acclaim and best-seller status, as well as a place among the best of contemporary Japanese literature. In N.P., a celebrated Japanese writer has committed suicide, leaving behind a collection of stories written in English, entitled N.P. But the book may never be published in his native Japan: each translator who takes up the ninety-eighth story chooses death too—including Kazami's boyfriend, Shoji. Haunted by Shoji's death, Kazami discovers the truth behind the ninety-eighth story—and comes to believe that _everything that had happened was shockingly beautiful, enough to make you...