{"product_id":"9781908968449-popular-hits-of-the-showa-era","title":"Popular Hits of the Showa Era","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA darkly satirical tale of the generation and gender gaps in Japanese society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA darkly satirical tale of the generation and gender gaps in Japanese society, Ruy Murakami's \u003cem\u003ePopular Hits of the Showa Era\u003c\/em\u003e is a literary karaoke act combining manga and street culture\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a set-up like a video game: two rival gangs fight to death for the control of a Tokyo district. In one gang, six young losers committed only to drinking, voyeurism and karaoke singing, in the other six tough independent older women. From ambush to revenge, both groups are gradually decimated until the ultimate showdown. In Murakami's inimitably brutal and brilliant style, \u003cem\u003ePopular Hits\u003c\/em\u003e dissects the gender and generational conflicts of contemporary society in a hilarious satire.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMurakami is mercilessly funny as he tracks his characters' evolution from twits to scholars of guerrilla warfare'\u003cem\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'One of the funniest and strangest gang wars in recent literature'\u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRyu Murakami's \u003cem\u003ePopular Hits From the Showa Era\u003c\/em\u003e is translated from the Japanese by Ralph McCarthy and published by Pushkin Press\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBorn in 1952 in Nagasaki prefecture, \u003cstrong\u003eRyu Murakami\u003c\/strong\u003e is the enfant terrible of contemporary Japanese literature. Awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1976 for his first book, a novel about a group of young people drowned in sex and drugs, he has gone on to explore with cinematic intensity the themes of violence and technology in contemporary Japanese society. His novels include \u003cem\u003eCoin Locker Babies\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSixty-Nine\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePopular Hits of the Showa Era\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eAudition\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eIn the Miso Soup\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eFrom the Fatherland, with Love\u003c\/em\u003e. Murakami is also a screenwriter and a director; his films include \u003cem\u003eTokyo Decadence\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eAudition\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eBecause of You.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31807017222241,"sku":"9781908968449","price":8.41,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_41159321_a904e702-2733-42ac-ab57-b487c7bc1acf.jpg?v=1778128255","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781908968449-popular-hits-of-the-showa-era","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}