Indie Press Reading Group

The Indie Press Reading Group series aims to turn the spotlight on novelists from independent publishers. In support of Granta Books, we’ll chat about the beguiling and beautiful The Third Love by Hiromi Kawakami whose Under the Eye of the Big Bird was shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize.

Having married her childhood sweetheart, Riko now finds herself trapped in a relationship soured by infidelity. One day, she runs into her old friend Mr Takaoka, who offers friendship, love, and an unusual escape. He teaches her how to live 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, Riko comes to reconsider her life as a 21st-century woman - as a wife, mother, and lover. After loving her husband and loving Mr Takaoka, is she ready for her third great love?

Hiromi Kawakami is an award-winning Japanese writer, whose fiction includes Strange Weather in Tokyo, The Nakano Thrift Shop, The Ten Loves of Mr Nishino and People From My Neighbourhood.