According to the author’s note at the end of the book, Yoko Ogawa has won every major Japanese literary award. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker. Her works include The Memory Police; The Diving Pool, a collection of three novellas; The Housekeeeper and the Professor; Hotel Iris; and Revenge. She lives in Ashiya, Japan.
When I picked up this book from the library, the author’s name felt familiar. Then I realized—I had read two of her books 14 years ago! Yet, I have no recollection of them. So, this blog entry is written as though I am approaching her work for the first time.