Copies of paperback edition of If I Were You… (moshimo watashi ga anata dattara) by the Naoki prize-winning author Kazufumi Shiraishi published in May 2020. Photo: Kazufumi ShiraishiThe release of this novel in bunko format, paperback, 14 years after it was first published in hardback, tanko, in Japan in Japanese follows a flurry of media interest in and praise for Shiraishi: with interviews in major prestigious Japanese publications; such as Toyo Keizai, the Asahi Shimbun, and Kateigaho to list just a few; as well as the serialisation of new works by the multi award-winning author in several Japanese newspapers and magazines.
Image of Kateigaho‘s extensive interview with the Naoki prize-winning author Kazufumi Shiraishi in its online edition. Photo: Red Circle Authors Limited.If I Were You… about love, life and complicated relationships is another beautifully written and thought-provoking tale from one of Japan’s most insightful contemporary authors, and its republication is another sign of the continued interest in works by Shiraishi from readers throughout Japan.
Set in Fukuoka, on the southern island of Japan, Kyushu, where the author was born in 1958, a region which Shiraishi depicts exquisitely, this love story challenges readers to think about what is really important in life, what it really means to ‘commit’ and the timeless struggle to discover what each of us really wants from life.
Keigo Fujikawa leaves his job at a major Japanese corporation and returns to the area he grew up in Hakata in Fukuoka to run a bar. But one day a former colleague’s wife, who is now the Managing Director of the company he left, suddenly turns up, saying: “If I were you…”. Forcing Fujikawa to reflect on the choices he has made and his current impoverished existence.
This new paperback edition of If I Were You… is the fourth edition to be published to date. A Chinese translation edition was published in 2015 and two other editions have also been published in Japan in Japanese.
The first three titles in the Red Circle Minis series, including Stand-In Companion by Kazufumi Shiraishi, on sale at The London Review Bookshop, one of London most highly regarded independent bookshops, next to Hiromi Kawakami’s latest book published in English translation The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino. Photogragh: Red Circle Authors Limited.
About Red Circle:Red Circle Authors Limited is a specialist publishing and communications company that conducts bespoke projects on behalf of a carefully selected and curated group of leading Japanese authors. Red Circle showcases Japan’s best creative writing. For more information on Red Circle, Japanese literature, and Red Circle authors please visit: www.redcircleauthors.com.-
About Kazufumi Shiraishi:Kazufumi Shiraishi had a successful career, spanning two decades, as a journalists working for one of Japan's highest profile monthly magazines, Bungeishinju, before following in the steps of his father and twin brother becoming a full time author. He is a deeply thoughtful author who writes about love, life and the human condition and is unique in being the only Japanese author to follow in his father’s footsteps by winning the same major Japanese literary prize.
