Ashes of Spring Audiobook By Mieko Kawakami, Hitomi Yoshio - translator, David Boyd - translator cover art

Ashes of Spring

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of titles.
Yours as long as you’re a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for $8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Ashes of Spring

By: Mieko Kawakami, Hitomi Yoshio - translator, David Boyd - translator
Narrated by: Sura Siu
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Award-winning Japanese author and poet Mieko Kawakami brings Ashes of Spring, a collection of short stories set in everyday life in Japan just before the pandemic lockdown. Kawakami’s stories straddle the line between delicate and beautiful human connection and the brutality of human nature. This poignant collection vividly captures the world we created shortly before it was put on pause, the characters at the center, painfully real. As we emerge five years later, Kawakami offers a stark reminder of our own fragility.

©2023 Mieko Kawakami (P)2025 Audible, Inc. Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction

Editorial reviews

「ONLY FROM audible」とは、Audibleのみが提供・販売するデジタル音声作品です（オリジナル作品や、独自ナレーション作品等）。
All stars
Most relevant
I liked it all. Not disappointed at all and very surprised by my reaction characters were excellent.

Humanity

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Must listen. A thought provoking story line. Not too much about covid as they say.

Haunting...Provocative 🤯

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I didn't expect to enjoy or feel anything much when listening to the book, but I got so frustrated in some places and could easily envision myself in the shoes of the characters, but they're very real, flawed, and very human, and all of this at the beginning of the pandemic as well, it made some parts of the book hit harder.

Very Real and Very Well-Written

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In Ashes of Spring, Mieko Kawakami once again proves her remarkable ability to illuminate the everyday, unspoken facets of life. I’m always amazed by how she transforms common experiences into profound reflections on the human condition. One story, featuring a boy and a letter, stood out to me—the way he captured his thoughts as he observed a girl crying sent a shiver down my spine. Equally compelling was the final tale, where a girl’s blend of jealousy and a sincere desire to help revealed an honesty that felt both raw and refreshing.

Kawakami’s depth of feeling shines through every page, making Ashes of Spring another great read that challenges us to acknowledge the beauty in life’s most understated moments.

Ashes of Spring

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The stories are thought provoking, unusual and psychologically engaging. The fact that the author used the Covid pandemic as background made the conflicts more relatable.

Moving themes with magnetic narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews