{"product_id":"people-who-talk-to-stuffed-animals-are-nice-stories-9780063227217","title":"People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice: Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003ePeople Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice is a thought-provoking short story collection that explores gender, friendship, romance, love, human interaction, and the limitations of a misogynistic society. It follows two university students who rebel against gendered roles and use stuffed toys for emotional support, as well as a young woman who must contend with a mother-in-law who swears by cancer-preventing \"hyper-organization\" water and a sister who writes fake news for a living. The stories capture the subtleties and complexities of the characters' inner worlds and speak to the pain and desires of all who embrace nuance, repudiate traditional sex roles, and long for a gentler and more tolerant world. \u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLength\u003c\/strong\u003e: 176 pages\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication date\u003c\/strong\u003e: 06 July 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: HarperCollins Publishers Inc\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e A captivating exploration of gender dynamics, set against a background of the trying and confusing time of adolescence, when identity is in flux and everything in life is unstable and magical. —Lydia Conklin, author of Rainbow Rainbow     A fresh, thoughtful, and always surprising short story collection from a rising young star in the world of Japanese literature.   Composed of the title novella and three short stories, People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice  sensitively explores gender, friendship, romance, love, human interaction and its absence, and how a misogynistic society limits women and men.  In the title story, Nanamori and Mugito, two university students appalled by society's gendered roles, rebel. Refusing to interact with other people, they use stuffed toys for emotional support. Unlike Nanamori and Mugito, their fellow plushie society member Shiraki does not talk to plushies. Pragmatic, she accepts the status quo that boys sometimes make nasty jokes; she believes their behavior resembles the real world.  In \"Realizing Fun Things Through Water,\" a young woman named Hatsuoka must contend with a mother-in-law who swears by cancer-preventing \"hyper-organization\" water, and a sister who writes fake news for a living. \"Bath Towel Visuals\" illuminates the mental cost of not just laughing along at mean humor, while \"Hello, Thank You, I'm Okay\" follows a family's response when their shut-in son announces he wants to throw himself a birthday party.  Written in brisk and gentle prose, Ao Omae's stories capture the subtleties and complexities of his characters' inner world, individuals struggling to conform in an inflexible society little tolerant of difference. These stories, sometimes comical, sometimes bittersweet, and always thought-provoking, speak to the pain and desire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight\u003c\/strong\u003e: 276g\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimension\u003c\/strong\u003e: 146 x 218 x 21 (mm)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: 9780063227217\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ao Omae","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":44327435895034,"sku":"9780063227217","price":13.8,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0522\/4297\/2845\/products\/1688737808134_book.jpg?v=1688887124","url":"https:\/\/shulphink.com\/products\/people-who-talk-to-stuffed-animals-are-nice-stories-9780063227217","provider":"Shulph Ink","version":"1.0","type":"link"}