In Japan, there is a boom in books by and for the elderly
As the market ages, so do the authors and themes
LITERATURE REFLECTS life. So in ageing Japan there is a raft of smash-hit books by aged authors. “Age 90: what’s so great about it?” is a humorous essay on the difficulties of the elderly, by Aiko Sato, who is 95 and wrote it with a pen. It sold 1m copies in 2017, making it Japan’s bestselling book that year. In 2018 the Akutagawa literary prize went to Chisako Wakatake, 63 at the time, for her debut novel “Live by Myself” with its 74-year-old protagonist, Momoko.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Fifty shades of grey”
Asia February 23rd 2019
From the February 23rd 2019 edition
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