Sisters in Yellow - Mieko Kawakami

Category: Crime, Novel
Language: English
Keywords: Coming of Age Japanese Literature Memory Nightlife Noir Tokyo

Written by Mieko Kawakami
Read by Annie Q. Riegel
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Unabridged

Hana has nothing – she’s fifteen years old and living in a tiny apartment in a suburb of Tokyo with her young mother, a hostess at a local dive bar. They have no money, no security. Then Kimiko appears.

Kimiko is older, a bright light in Hana’s dark world. Together they set up Lemon, a bar that, despite its shabby setting and seedy clientele, becomes a haven for Hana. Suddenly Hana has a job she loves, friends to share her days with, and the glittering promise of money. She feels like a normal girl. She feels invincible.

But in the narrow alleys of Sangenjaya, nothing is as it seems. Soon all of Hana’s hope, her optimism, and her drive will be pushed to the limit . . .

A story of enduring friendship and deep betrayal, Sisters in Yellow is a masterpiece of teenage dreams and adult cruelties that confirms Mieko Kawakami as one of the great writers of her generation.

Translated by Laurel Taylor and Hitomi Yoshio

15 hrs and 27 mins
March 17, 2026