Healing Fiction

Long popular in Japan and Korea, these books—feel-good novels with elements of magical realism—are taking off in translation.

This list includes titles that are available digitally as an e-book, an e-audiobook, or both.

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Updated November 13, 2024
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Before the coffee gets cold : a novel
Kawaguchi, Toshikazu 1971-
Paper Book
*NOW AN LA TIMES BESTSELLER* *AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER* The first book in the five million-copy bestselling magical realism series If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet? ...
Tales from the cafe : a novel
Kawaguchi, Toshikazu 1971-
Paper Book
From the author of the international bestseller Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this book follows four new customers who hope to travel back in time in a little Japanese café. In a back alley in Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more...
THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS : A NOVEL
Natsukawa, S?
Paper Book
AN INDIE NEXT PICK! From the #1 bestselling author in Japan comes a celebration of books, cats, and the people who love them, infused with the heartwarming spirit of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles. Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the...
What you are looking for is in the library : a novel
Aoyama, Michiko 1970-
Paper Book
A TIME BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A WASHINGTON POST BEST FEEL GOOD BOOK OF 2023 For fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, a charming, internationally bestselling Japanese novel about how the perfect book recommendation can change a...
The Kamogawa Food Detectives
Kashiwai, Hisashi/ Kirkwood, Jesse (TRN)
Paper Book
The Kamogawa Food Detectives is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese series, for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. What's the one dish you'd do anything to taste just one more time? Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto...
The Restaurant of Lost Recipes
Kashiwai, Hisashi/ Kirkwood, Jesse (TRN)
Paper Book
We all hold lost recipes in our hearts. A very special restaurant in Kyoto helps find them . . . Tucked away down a Kyoto backstreet lies the extraordinary Kamogawa Diner, run by Chef Nagare and his daughter, Koishi. The father-daughter duo have reinvented...
We'll prescribe you a cat
Syou, Ishida 1975-
Paper Book
A cat a day keeps the doctor away... Discover the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel that has become an international sensation in this utterly charming, vibrant celebration of the healing power of cats. Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow...
The Marigold Mind Laundry
Yun, Jungeun/ Tan, Shanna (TRN)
Paper Book
Welcome to the Marigold Mind Laundry, where we wash away the stains from your heart. In this enchanting tale--a blockbuster bestseller in Korea--the enigmatic owner of a magical laundromat that erases people's painful memories must learn to find her own peace...
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
Hwang, Po-r?
Paper Book
INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER * NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER INDIE NEXT PICK * Debutiful Most Anticipated Book of 2024 * Powell's Pick of the Month * A Bookshop Best Book of the Year So Far The Korean smash hit available for the first...
The Dallergut Dream Department Store
Lee, Miye/ Lee, Sandy Joosun (TRN)
Paper Book
THE #1 KOREAN BESTSELLER WITH OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD For fans of magical realism and the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi comes this cozy fantasy debut. What if there was a store that sold dreams? Which...
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Yagisawa, Satoshi/ Ozawa, Eric (TRN)
Paper Book
The wise and charming international bestseller and hit Japanese movie--about a young woman who loses everything but finds herself--a tale of new beginnings, romantic and family relationships, and the comfort that can be found in books.  Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a...
The Lantern of Lost Memories
Hiiragi, Sanaka/ Kirkwood, Jesse (TRN)
Paper Book
From acclaimed Japanese author Sanaka Hiigari comes a heartwarming, life-affirming novel about a magical photo studio, where people go after they die to view key moments from their life--and relive one precious memory before they pass into the afterlife. ...

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