{"product_id":"9781908968463-sixty-nine","title":"Sixty-Nine","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA side-splittingly funny coming-of-age novel set in the Japan of the sixties, Ryu Murakami's novel is an unusually funny and autobiographical book from an author known for his darkly violent and cynical side. Being young in the 1960s is the same in Japan as everywhere. This is a personal but profound insight into a much wider upheaval in society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMurakami's \u003cem\u003e69\u003c\/em\u003e, a side-splittingly funny coming-of-age novel set in the Japan of the sixties\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a small, inconsequential city in Japan, all that matters to 17-year-old Kensuke Yazaki and his friends is girls, rock music and, to a much lesser extent, school. Told at high speed and with irresistible humour by Kensuke himself, this is the story of their 1969, as they engage in heated conversations about Marxism, Rimbaud, Godard, the Beatles and the Stones, set up a barricade in their school, organise a rock festival and map out a highly successful strategy in girl-winning. This is a young Japan entirely turned towards the West, pervaded by Western music, where the girls have nicknames pulled from famous British films, but still locked in a fight with the rigid post-war conservatism of the older generation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Translated from the Japanese by Ralph McCarthy and published by Pushkin Press\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'A light, rollicking, sometimes hilarious, but never sentimental picture of late-sixties Japan.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'A great deal of fun, and Murakami . is a find.'\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'The hero is a thoroughly engaging smartass.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA superb and very funny bluffer, and one sympathizes with him all the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAtlantic Monthly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'A cross between \u003cem\u003eThe Catcher and the Rye\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Strawberry Statement\u003c\/em\u003e.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReview of Contemporary Fiction\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\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":31861764522081,"sku":"9781908968463","price":9.58,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_41162590_54710c0a-3141-4fdc-9914-1d85771c52ec.jpg?v=1778128357","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781908968463-sixty-nine","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}