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The long-awaited translation of the novel behind the cult classic Japanese movie.

In this gloriously over-the-top tale, Aoyama, a widower who has lived alone with his son ever since his wife died seven years before, finally decides it is time to remarry. Since Aoyama is a bit rusty when it comes to dating, a filmmaker friend proposes that, in order to attract the perfect wife, they do a casting call for a movie they don’t intend to produce.

As the résumés pile up, only one of the applicants catches Aoyama’s attention―Yamasaki Asami―a striking young former ballerina with a mysterious past. Blinded by his instant and total infatuation, Aoyama is too late in discovering that she is a far cry from the innocent young woman he imagines her to be.

The novel’s fast-paced, thriller conclusion doesn’t spare the reader as Yamasaki takes off her angelic mask and reveals what lies beneath.

Author: Ryu Murakami
Translator: Ralph McCarthy
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Pages: 192pp
Size: 5.5 x 8.25
Notes: paperback
Release Date: January 31, 2011
ISBN: 978-0393338416