Gurveer Singh

Lives Lived in the Margins: A Collection of Second-hand Japanese Fiction

My collection features second-hand Japanese contemporary books with a particular focus on authors that won the Akutagawa Prize. My collection stems from a deep fascination in Japanese postwar culture and representations of marginalized people in popular literature. The books in my collection feature extensive annotation by both myself and close friends and acts as a persona diary of sorts, cataloguing my personal growth in the five years since I began collecting Japanese books.

—Gurveer Singh

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Almost Transparent Blue

Murakami Ryū. Almost Transparent Blue. Kodansha International, 2003.
Almost Transparent Blue—Annotations

First edition, purchased used. Features extensive annotations by previous owners, myself, and friends. This book is of particular importance to me.
No Longer Human

Dazai, Osamu. No Longer Human. Translated by Donald Keene, New Directions Book, 2020.
No Longer Human—Annotations

Purchased used and features my annotations.
Kafka on the Shore

Murakami, Haruki. Kafka on the Shore. Translated by Philip Gabriel, Vintage Classics, 2005.
Kafka on the Shore—Annotations

Purchased used, features extensive annotations by myself and close friends. This copy is very special and near to my heart.
Snakes and Earrings

Kanehara, Hitomi. Snakes and Earrings. E.P. Dutton, 2005.

Purchased used, contains my annotations. This book is of importance to me.
Convenience Store Woman

Murata, Sayaka. Convenience Store Woman. Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori, Granta,2019.

Purchased used, contains annotations by myself and close friends.