Love, death, truth and loneliness are all intertwined in this masterpiece from one of Japan’s greatest writers. A tragedy in three letters: the masterpiece of one of Japan’s greatest writers

A lover, her daughter and the abandoned wife: three letters by three women tell the story of a love affair’s tragic consequences.

First Shoko, who finds out about the infidelity through reading her mother’s diary; then Midori, the wife who has always known but never told; and finally the beautiful Saiko, the woman who has betrayed her best friend.Yasushi Inoue’s poised, unsentimental novella is a powerful tale with universal resonance. Written from three different points of view, the story explores the impact of forbidden passion.