Strange Weather in Tokyo Lauren Elkin Handel stayed true to himself

Handel stayed true to himself

Then Shen Fever spreads

Exquisitely translated by Susan Bernofsky

her best friend

Strange Weather in Tokyo Lauren Elkin Handel stayed true to himselfTsukiko, thirty eight, works in an office and lives alone. One night, she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, "Sensei," in a local bar. Tsukiko had only ever called him "Sensei" ("Teacher"). He is thirty years her senior, retired, and presumably a widower. Their relationship develops from a perfunctory acknowledgment of each other as they eat and drink alone at the bar, to a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly