NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD

Miyazawa’s nearly-century old Japanese classic about a mysterious train ride reappears in a new translation.

Young Giovanni is struggling at home and school. His only friend is Campanella; the other students regularly bully him. His absent father is possibly fishing “up north” or perhaps in prison. Giovanni works after school at a print shop to pay for the family’s groceries. When his bedridden mother reveals that the milk wasn’t delivered today, Giovanni rushes to the dairy to retrieve it. His mother encourages him to stop by the Milky Way Festival on his way, but teasing from classmates he encounters ruins his good time. Running away into the dark hills, he’s magically picked up by the Galactic Interchange—and discovers Campanella already onboard. They meet fellow passengers on their way to mystical destinations—including Heaven. Miyazawa (1896-1933), one of Japan’s most beloved children’s writers, transforms these encounters into parables underscoring loss, kindness, and self-sacrifice. Unusual in Miyazawa’s nuanced narrative are the use of Esperanto, references to Lancashire and Connecticut, “an Indian” in the Colorado Plateau, and the unnamed yet recognizable Titanic tragedy. Originally published posthumously in 1934, Night has already seen four previous English translations; this latest, translated by Japanese-to-English powerhouses Yoneda and Boyd, originates in a 2014 Japanese edition prominently featuring striking, noir-esque woodcut illustrations by award-winning artist/writer Tsukasa. Characters’ ethnicities aren’t made explicit, though names imply Italian heritage.

An early-20th-century example of haunting speculative fiction, ready for a new generation of young Anglophone audiences.