'The perfect-round present' Time Out

'Brilliant.. .Murakami introduces all these stories with grace and lightness of touch, warm and informal in suggesting their essences and qualities without self-indulgence or writerly obsequiousness' Sunday Herald

What will you get for your birthday this year? A chance to see into the future? Or a reminder of an imperfect past?

In this enviable gathering, Haruki Murakami has chosen for his party some of the very best short story writers of recent years, each with their own birthday experiences, each story a snapshot of life on a single day. Including stories by Russell Banks, Ethan Canin, Raymond Carver, David Foster Wallace, Denis Johnson, Claire Keegan, Andrea Lee, Daniel Lyons, Lewis Robinson (included for the first time in this edition), Lynda Sexson, Paul Theroux, William Trevor and Haruki Murakami, this anthology captures a range of emotions evoked by advancing age and the passing of time, from events fondly recalled to the impact of appalling tragedy.

Previously published in a Japanese translation by Haruki Murakami, this English edition contains a specially written introduction.

'A genuine curiosity of an anthology. .. Charming.. . Tantalising' Scotland on Sunday

'Voices and settings as diverse as the authors, but they are all concerned with the arbitrary yet immensely significant way in which we mark the passing of our lives' Observer

'The quality of storytelling is exemplary... There's darkness enough here for the hardiest of cynics, but enough heart to charm' Word
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