The Third Love

From a young age, Riko felt a deep attachment that developed into love for a family friend. She later marries him, but the man who was the love of her life was born with natural charm and a desire to please, so he shares his love with other women as well. Riko tried to accept this fact until the consequences of his indecision became too much to bear. During this period, she meets an old friend who teaches her to live in dreams, and she too begins to lead a double life. The dream world is not just a refuge for her; as she embarks on alternative dream lives in the Edo period and even further “long, long ago” in the Heian period, she compares them with the experiences of women in the 21st century and her own married life. She notices the repetition of similar patterns of fateful love throughout history, while gradually freeing herself from the shackles of her first love. Japanese writer Hiromi Kawakami is best known for her bestseller Strange Weather in Tokyo. (ŠP)