Kenzaburo Oe's shimmering masterpiece revisits a father’s life and death in an astonishing blend of myth, fantasy, history and autobiography. Translated by Deborah Boliver Boehm.

For the first time in his long life, Kogito Choko is suffering from writer’s block. The book he wants to write would examine his turbulent relationship with his father, and the guilt he feels about the night his father drowned. But how to write about a man he never really knew? His estranged sister offers a potential solution - she has in her possession a mysterious old red trunk, the contents of which could unlock the many secrets of the man who disappeared from their lives decades before.

Longlisted
The Man Booker International Prize 2016
Published by
Atlantic Books
Publication date
Kenzaburō Ōe

Kenzaburō Ōe

About the Author

Kenzaburō Ōe is considered one of Japan's leading post-war writers.
More about Kenzaburō Ōe

Deborah Boliver Boehm

About the Translator

Deborah Boliver Boehm is a writer and translator.
More about Deborah Boliver Boehm