{"product_id":"island-of-the-bird-folk-a-novel-by-kiyoko-murata-juliet-winters-carpenter","title":"Island of the Bird-Folk: A Novel by Kiyoko Murata, Juliet Winters Carpenter (Paperback) (PREORDER)","description":"\u003cp\u003eFiction - World Literature - Japan - Nature \u0026amp; The Environment\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRELEASE DATE: 1\/19\/2027 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated from the Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the author of A Woman of Pleasure comes a powerful new novel that sharply criticizes our modern attachment to our possessions, and specifically our land, from the perspective of two singular women who refuse to leave their home\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA small island near the Japanese border which once had a thriving fishing industry is now home to just two old women: 92-year-old Io and 88-year-old Someko. As we see them grow their vegetables and catch their fish, it seems at first that they are self-sufficient, but the cost of deliveries from the boat supplying them with propane and other necessities is 200,000 dollars a year. Still, the village officer wants them to keep on living there to prevent border violations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe last surviving women are in fact saving Japan from invasion by a neighboring country. Occasionally Io's daughter Umiko visits the island, trying to convince them to move to the mainland for their safety. Yet the two women pay no attention. They have a bigger mission than their safety--to become birds. They believe that their husbands and brother who failed to return from the ocean have morphed into birds, and they are preparing to meet the same fate. A novel about the rigors of time and connection to place buoyed by a deep love and attachment to family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAUTHOR BIO: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKIYOKO MURATA\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis the author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Woman of Pleasure\u003c\/i\u003e. She has been awarded many of Japan's major literary awards including the Akutagawa Prize in 1987. [Hizoku] won the Tanizaki Prize in 2019. She lives in Fukuoka, Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTRANSLATOR BIO: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJULIET WINTERS CARPENTER\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewas a distinguished translator of Japanese literature whose work received numerous awards. She lived in Japan for over forty-five years, then on Whidbey Island in Washington State. She died in 2026.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Counterpoint","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50519673307329,"sku":"9781640097407","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0535\/7522\/1441\/files\/9781640097407.jpg?v=1787371158","url":"https:\/\/www.bookhavenbooks.com\/products\/island-of-the-bird-folk-a-novel-by-kiyoko-murata-juliet-winters-carpenter","provider":"Book Haven Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}