- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (Feb 3 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312382944
- ISBN-13: 978-0312382940
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 15.2 x 2.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,119,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
A modern classic of literature in Japan, Supermarket is a novel of the human drama surrounding the management of a supermarket chain at a time when the phenomenon of the supermarket, imported postwar from the US, was just taking hold in Japan.
When Kojima, an elite banker resigns his job to help a cousin manage Ishiei, a supermarket in one of Japan’s provincial cities, a host of problems ensue. Store employees are stealing products, the books are in disaray, and the workers seem stuck in old ways of thinking. As Kojima begins to give all his time over to the relentless task of reforming the store’s management, a chance encounter with a woman from his childhood causes him to ask the age-old question: is the all encompassing pursuit of business success really worth it?
Sincere and naive in tone, Supermarket takes us back to a simpler, kinder time, and
skillfully presents the depictions of its characters alongside a wealth of information concerning Japanese post WWII recovery and industrialization.
About the Author
Satoshi Azuchi was born in Tokyo. After graduating from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law, he went to work at the Summit chain of supermarkets, and helped make what was then a middle-ranking firm into one of the top chains in Japan. Azuchi made his writing debut in 1981 with Distribution Industry, the Novel, later retitled Supermarket. Since, Supermarket has been a consistant top seller in Japan, and is considered a classic of modern Japanese literature.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Is your produce fresh?, Aug 9 2009
By Dick Johnson - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Supermarket: A Novel (Hardcover)
A novel about the grocery business in the Japan of forty years ago? Yes, that's the premise of this strangely enjoyable book.The surface story has shenanigans taking place in the fresh foods and clothing departments of one of Japan's new venture into 'supermarkets'. Our protagonist, Kojima, has taken the leap from banking to an industry he knows nothing about.
We follow him and his fellow employees through several years as they try to turn a profit from this new type of store that they copied from America.
Writing in a spare style, we learn only what we need to know to advance the story. I got the sense that the author and translator worked together to put this into English; and it resulted in a well written story.
'Supermarket' is a relaxing low key look at a section of Japanese life catching up with the west after the 1940's. Some of the underlying story is about moral and ethical issues that add depth to the book.
This is definitely a book with a unique plot. I enjoyed it.
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