Title: Tokyo Ueno Station

Series: N/A

Author: Yū Miri

Translator: Morgan Giles

Genres: Literary

Publishing Date: 19 March 2014

Original Language: Japanese

Pages: ~197

CW: Death, Child death, Grief, Suicide, Animal death, Death of parent, War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts

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Read if you’re looking for: 

• A man who haunts a train station as he reminisces about the past
• A commentary on class inequality, emotional ineptness, & aging
• A meditation on grief
• A slice of life featuring the people moving through the station
• Literary fiction translated from Japanese

This story tells the tale of one man’s life, exploring his memories from his later years, and touching on his connections to others, especially his family. The writing style was beautiful, incorporating some stream-of-consciousness sections and snippets of overheard conversations, that sort of reminded me of Virginia Woolf’s writing style a little bit.

Many of the characters are unhoused, living in plywood huts around Tokyo Ueno train station, and this is the first time that I’ve seen that representation in a book from Japan. This book empathetically shows a look at old age, and how many older people are forgotten, as well as how income inequality disproportionately affects older people. It also explores the joys and pains of parenthood, and how parents sometimes fail their children, even when they are doing their best. This was an emotional and gorgeously written book, and I recommend it to those who like to get in their feels.