PEOPLE WHO TALK TO STUFFED ANIMALS ARE NICE

Ao Omae, Emily Balistrieri

(Translated by)

A fresh, thoughtful, and always surprising short story collection from a rising young star in the world of Japanese literature.

Composed of the title novella and three short stories, People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice sensitively explores gender, friendship, romance, love, human interaction and its absence, and how a misogynistic society limits women and men. Written in brisk and gentle prose, Ao Omae’s stories capture the subtleties and complexities of his characters’ inner world, individuals struggling to conform in an inflexible society intolerant of difference. These stories, sometimes comical, sometimes bittersweet, and always thought-provoking, speak to the pain and desires of all who embrace nuance, repudiate traditional sex roles, and long for a gentler and more tolerant world.