For readers who relish the disturbing material of fairy tale...Kenji Miyazawa's odd, masterly stories will be a delight * New York Times * Kenji Miyazawa fables are international-class -- David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas Miyazawa moves you to sorrow, to laugh, chuckle, marvel - he makes you live -- Hiroaki Sato A marvelous writer who deserves to be much better known in English * Kirkus * Miyazawa seems to have been something of a genius * Observer * A humble and gifted writer * Time * [ Miyazawa] had stories for many of our basic human vices, and for our basic forms of goodness, too. And this only scratches the surface of his work's appeal... Everything in Miyazawa's work seethes with life. Each leaf, flower, blade of grass, and berry seems to have its own special action. * Paris Review * Superb fables... in the prettiest edition of Miyazawa yet * Times Literary Supplement * Thanks to the blend of pin-sharp, bright-hued backdrops with outlandish happenings and wholesome messages, Ghibli-movie fans should feel at home * Spectator * This Japanese writer found fame for his poetry and short stories only after his death in 1933. At last, this sublime collection introduces English-speaking readers to his curious and whimsical world * Monocle *