Sometimes, as she viewed these snow-capped mountains in the distance, she heard the low sound of the mountain calling, trying to coax her from her peaceful daily routine, but she ignored that sound, despite its strong pull, and carried on making her way to work.

Flo finds a book left behind on the Tokyo’s underground and immediately gets into its story, trying to translate it into English and publish it abroad. She does everything in her power to try and find the mysterious author of the novel, whilst falling in love with the book itself. The book talks about Kyo, a 19-yo boy who has just failed his exams and was sent to live with his grandma in the rural Japan. Although their relationships starts off coolly, as Kyo has to heavily readjust to his current living situation, both him and his grandma Ayako learn new things from each other. Gorgeous. Four Seasons in Japan is the best kind of book: layered, interlinked and clever, but also delicately drawn, immersive and big-hearted. I strung out the last chapters, reluctant to let the beguiling characters go. Rebecca Stott, author of In The Days of Rain Part memoir and part travelogue, this Roger Deakin award-winning book is also a paean to the magic and mystery of the coastline surrounding Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Menmuir uses all the poetic storytelling techniques honed in his Booker-longlisted career to imbue the wonderful The Draw of the Sea with a keen sense of place and purpose. Meeting beachcombers, gig rowers, surfers and freedivers while pondering his own family’s place in this wild landscape, he explores why we are driven to the water’s edge. Neither is easy to live with, and it’s very fascinating to read about how their relationship grows over the time of a year, with all its ups and downs. Even though they are very different people, they also have more in common than they would think. They are both stubborn, strong-headed, driven by their passions, and have hearts of gold. Neither of them is easy to like or agree with at times, but I loved reading about them and all the characters that appear in their lives. Especially Ayumi. She was the best.

A beautifully constructed story within a story that builds to an emotional and satisfying conclusion; I loved being immersed in the characters' experiences of heartbreak, warmth, finding purpose and, of course, cats, in the shifting seasons of urban and rural Japan. Ayako is a character I will carry with me for a long time. Eleanor Wasserberg, author of The Light at the End of the Day

We follow their journey through all four seasons with two timelines for each season: Flo with her life story and translation, and Kyo and Ayako as they adjust to a new relationship. I liked the Kyo and Ayako segment more than Flo. However, it was nice to see that Flo's growth from insecure after her last translation was not well received to someone confident and determined to find the owner of the story. As for Kyo and Ayako, I like how these two different people gradually realize how similar they are and start supporting each other as they recover and find themselves.

My favourite character by far was the formidable Ayako, Kyo’s grandmother. I loved seeing their relationship develop; they had some really touching moments.

Flo translates the story of Kyo, a sensitive teenager and his stubborn grandmother Ayako, even though she doesn’t have the author’s permission. This story occurs mainly in Onomichi, a countryside town. Bradley takes his readers to Japan and introduces them to the country’s history, customs, culture, cuisine, and traditions. It was a wonderful experience visualising the changing seasons.The key pleasure of reading this book is its sprightly vigour - cool but not hipsterish, ambitious but not pretentious - that evokes a similar liveliness in the reader. It makes you feel young again John Self, The Times, on THE CAT AND THE CITY The emotions that ran through me as I read those lines. I had to pause and take a minute to regain control and still I was trembling, unsure of what it all meant. Afraid that it was the worst and that would destroy me.