{"product_id":"9781529933536","title":"Mina's Matchbox","description":"Author: Ogawa, Yoko\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781529933536\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: RANDOM HOUSE UK\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 18 Nov 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 288\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA story of friendship and family secrets in 1970s Japan, from the prizewinning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Memory Police\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOn sleepless nights, I open the matchbox and reread the story of the girl who gathered shooting stars.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I read \u003ci\u003eMina's Matchbox\u003c\/i\u003e like a besotted child, enraptured, never wanting it to end.' \u003cb\u003eRUTH OZEKI, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Form and Emptiness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent to live for a year with her uncle in the coastal town of Ashiya. It is a year which will change her life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 1970s are bringing changes to Japan and her uncle's magnificent colonial mansion opens up a new and unfamiliar world for Tomoko; its sprawling gardens are even home to a pygmy hippo the family keeps as a pet. Tomoko finds her relatives equally exotic and beguiling and her growing friendship with her cousin Mina draws her into an intoxicating world full of secret crushes and elaborate storytelling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRich with the magic and mystery of youth, \u003ci\u003eMina's Matchbox \u003c\/i\u003eis an evocative snapshot of a moment frozen in time, and a striking depiction of a family on the edge of collapse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eMina's Matchbox\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eDreamy and whimsical,\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eMina's Matchbox\u003c\/i\u003e traffics in the themes at which Ogawa always excels- memory, identity, and nostalgia' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEsquire, \u003c\/i\u003eBest Books of the Summer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A conspicuously gifted writer. . . To read Ogawa is to enter a dreamlike state. . . She possesses an effortless, glassy, eerie brilliance' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Evokes the secret crushes and crushing secrets of girlhood with charm and elegance' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46727031357598,"sku":"UBD-9781529933536","price":24.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781529933536.jpg?v=1776491738","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781529933536","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}