Small house, published in 2010, received the prestigious Naoki Award that same year
In the spring of 1930, twelve-year-old Taki, like most poor rural girls, had to go into the service. Now nearly 90, she writes her memoirs of her time spent in Mr. Hirai's petit-bourgeois household in a "small house" on the outskirts of Tokyo, from the optimistic 1930s to the early days of the war. It describes in detail pre-war customs, social relations, also the impact of historical events, of growing nationalism and devastation after the surrender of Japan in 1945. Its nostalgic, sometimes naive view is simultaneously attacked by her great-nephew, that she reads in her memories. After her death, he traces the fate of the Hirai family and with it the bitter secret of his great-aunt.
Small house, published in 2010, was awarded the prestigious Naoki Prize the same year. The novel has been translated into English, Chinese, French and Korean and was made into a film in 2014.
The publication of the book was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
