Faber snaps up Yoshimoto's 'deeply moving' novel The Premonition

Faber has snapped up the first English translation of The Premonition, a "deeply moving novel" from Banana Yoshimoto, author of Kitchen (Faber).

Publishing director Angus Cargill acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Anna Carmichael at Abner Stein, as part of a two-book deal. The novel, which has been translated from Japanese by Asa Yoneda, will be published on 12th October 2023 alongside Catapult in the US. 

The book tells the story of 19-year-old Yayoi, who lives with her family and is increasingly haunted by the sense that she’s forgotten something important about her past.

Cargill said: "I’m really excited we will be publishing Banana Yoshimoto’s work on our frontlist once again. This short, haunting novel, appearing in English translation for this first time, dates back to the same year as Kitchen, one of the most beloved jewels of our fiction backlist.

"And we’re thrilled also to be continuing beyond this with the first UK publication of her brilliant short story collection, Dead-End Memories, in 2024."

The Premonition was first published in 1988 in Japan, the year Yoshimoto made her debut. That year she published four novels, all of which became bestsellers in Japan, including, most famously, the international bestseller Kitchen, which Faber will re-issue with a new jacket design in October.

Yoshimoto has published 10 books in English translation, including Goodbye Tsugumi (Grove Press/ Faber), Asleep (Faber) and Hardboiled/ Hard Luck (Faber). Her work has been translated and published in more than 30 countries.