A Record of Life and Death and Other Stories

In a quiet corner of a billiard hall, three students stay long after other customers have gone. The woman who keeps score smiles, jokes and plays against them, while friendship gives way to rivalry and each young man wonders what the others know.

A Record of Life and Death moves into a household overtaken by a child’s sudden illness. A father watches the hospital clock, listens to doctors, recalls his son’s small pleasures and tries to hold onto his conviction that the will can overcome misfortune. At the same time, his wife approaches the birth of their second child.

Toyoshima Yoshio joins psychological observation with moments of unsettling intimacy. The billiard balls’ sounds, a stove’s red glow, a child’s vest and a silent room become charged with emotions the characters struggle to understand.