The Third Love

Author: Kawakami, Hiromi

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 5 June 2025 by GRANTA BOOKS in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 288 pages
127 x 198 x 20 | 202g

Having married her childhood sweetheart, Riko now finds herself trapped in a relationship that has been soured by infidelity. One day, she runs into her old friend Mr Takaoka, who offers friendship, love, and an unusual escape: he teaches her the trick of living inside her dreams. Now, each night, she sinks into another life: first as a high-ranking courtesan in the 17th century, and then as a serving lady to a princess in the late Middle Ages. As she experiences desire and heartbreak in the past, so Riko comes to reconsider her life as a 21st-century woman - as a wife, as a mother, and as a lover - and to ask herself: after loving her husband and loving Mr Takaoka, is she is ready for her third great love?