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A piano contest in a small coastal town near Tokyo brings four lives together. Over two weeks, the players face joy, fear, and hopes for change. Aya, once a child prodigy, stopped playing after her mother died. Now she struggles to return to the stage. Her childhood friend Masaru took up piano because of her. He keeps his love for her secret.

Akashi works in a music shop and is older than his rivals. He sees the contest as his last chance to succeed. Sixteen-year-old Jin travels with his father, a beekeeper. He has neither a piano nor formal music training. Yet his playing amazes both listeners and fellow contestants.

Riku Onda’s literary novel explores grief, love, courage, and friendship through music. Rivalry gives way to bonds between the players. Their music lets them express feelings they cannot otherwise share. The story suits readers drawn to art and the lives behind a performance.

Onda grew up in Sendai and studied at Waseda University. She played piano as a child and saxophone in a student band. Her early love of classical music later grew to include rock and jazz. She left office work to write fiction. This novel won the Naoki Prize and Japan’s booksellers’ prize in 2017. It also became a film.

This Anansi edition presents Magda Ciubancan’s translation from Japanese. The original title is Mitsubachi to enrai.