Fault Lines

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Rarely has a story of domestic discontent been this much fun. This is due entirely to the charm and clear-eyed honesty of Mizuki, a mother residing in a Tokyo high-rise who is not living the life she once imagined for herself. Fault Lines explores the social conventions of modern Japan, and the costs of violating them. Recommended By Keith M., Powells.com

Combining the incisive intimacy of Sally Rooney with the sharp wit of Helen Fielding, a compulsively readable and astonishingly relatable debut novel about marriage, motherhood, love, self and the vibrant, surprising city that is modern Tokyo

Mizuki is a Japanese housewife. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children, and a beautiful Tokyo apartment. It's everything a woman could want, yet sometimes she wonders whether she would rather throw herself off the high-rise balcony than spend another evening not talking to her husband and hanging up laundry.

Then, one rainy night, she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur. In him, she rediscovers freedom, friendship, and the neon, electric pulse of the city she has always loved. But the further she falls into their relationship, the clearer it becomes that she is living two lives--and in the end, we can choose only one.

Funny, provocative, and startlingly honest, Fault Lines is for anyone who has ever looked in the mirror and asked, who am I and how did I get here? A bittersweet love story and a piercing portrait of female identity, it introduces Emily Itami as a debut novelist with astounding resonance and wit.

"A complicated romance with immense empathy for all its characters and their flaws [and] a wonderfully nuanced take on Tokyo life... Read this if you like: stories with funny, complicated protagonists at the helm, with steamy romance and family drama mixed together." Popsugar

"Fault Lines manages to be clever, wise, and heartbreaking all at once — the book is the perfect marriage of Sally Rooney and early Murakami, with a unique insight into marriage, motherhood, and warring cultural expectations that is all Emily Itami's own. Absolutely brilliant." Kathy Wang

"Mizuki is one of the most engaging adulteresses I've ever encountered, and a wonderfully witty guide to the morals and mores of contemporary Tokyo. I now know just how to behave while picking up children from school, or meeting strangers. Fault Lines is a moving and suspenseful novel full of the best kinds of incidental wisdom." Margot Livesey

Emily Itami grew up in Tokyo and returned there to live when her children were young. She now lives in London. She has been published widely as a freelance journalist and travel writer. This is her first novel.