From the beloved, bestselling author of Kitchen - five effortlessly beautiful, strange and melancholy stories of heartbreak, hope and trying to see beauty in the every- day.

There was no past, no future, no words, nothing – just the light and the yellow and the scent of dry leaves in the sun.

Japan’s internationally celebrated storyteller returns with five stories of heal- ing and hope. Effortlessly beautiful, nostalgic and melancholy, the stories in Dead-End Memories explore the stories of five women who, following sud- den and painful events, find solace in the blissful moments in everyday life.

The daughter of a restaurant owner experiences a budding romance, accom- panied by the ghosts of an elderly couple. After a scandalous near-death experience, an editor gains a new lease of life. A woman seeks refuge in the apartment above her uncle’s bar after being betrayed by her fiancé. As Yoshi- moto’s gentle, effortless prose reminds us, one true miracle can be as simple as having someone to share a meal with, and happiness is always within us if only we take a moment to see it.