About the Book

A page-turner of a novel set in contemporary Japan where tradition battles with modern impulses and material progress.
Kosuke—Kevin to his American colleagues and friends—returns to Tokyo from New York upon his father’s death, to be confronted with an unexpected dilemma: the family shrine run by his father, a Shinto priest, has been dwindling in influence and wealth, and the yakuza are circling. Should he sell the shrine to his sister or to whoever will pay the right price for it? Or should he listen to Horiike-san, who has been like a parent to him, and to the insistent voice within his head—and heart—that is pushing him to do more, to take over the shrine and the family legacy?
As he discovers truths long hidden or forgotten, Kosuke finds himself torn between the life he had begun to think of as his future and the compulsive attraction of familiarity and old love.
Sensual and emotionally charged, this is a novel that transcends time and place while being deeply rooted in both.

About the Author

Radhika Jha is the author of three previous novels, Smell, Lanterns on Their Horns and My Beautiful Shadow, as well as a collection of stories, The Elephant and the Maruti. She lived in Delhi, Tokyo, Beijing and New York before moving to Athens.