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(*)(Translated by Paul Warham) ()(LNI-0557Les mismo libro. Titulo original : ¬àX[p[}[Pbg [Shosetsu Supamaketto] 1.A perennial bestseller and modern classic in Japan,LSupermarketL is an epic journey of one manLs attempt to find meaning in life and a brilliant evocation of JapanLs postwar economic and cultural upheaval. Set in Tokyo in the aftermath of WWII,LSupermarketL tells the story surrounding the management of a supermarket chain at a time when the phenomenon of the supermarket, imported from the United States, was just taking hold in Japan. When Kojima, an elite banker, quits his job in order to help his cousin manage Ishiei, a supermarket in one of JapanLs provincial cities, a host of problems ensues. Kojima discovers that store managers are stealing products, the books are in disarray, and the workers seem stuck in old-fashioned ways of thinking. As he begins to devote all his time to the relentless task of reforming the storeLs management, a chance encounter with a woman from his chilhood causes him to ask the age-old question : Is the all-encompassing pursuit of business success really worth it? LSupermarketL takes us back to a simpler, kinder time, and skillfully presents the depictions of its characters alongside a wealth of information concerning the process of recovery and industrialization in postwar Japan. 2.Satoshi Azuchi [Àyq, 1937-] was born in Tokyo. After graduating from the University of TokyoLs Faculty of Law, he went to work at the Summit chain of supermarkets and helped make what was then a middle-ranking firm into one of the top chains in Japan. Azuchi made his writing debut in 1981 withLDistribution IndustryL, later retitledLSupermarketL. Since then,LSupermarketLhas been a consistent top seller in Japan and is considered a classic of modern Japanese literature.) |