「アメリカの建国の父」と言われる、ベンジャミンフランクリンの書。彼はアメリカ独立宣言やアメリカ合衆国憲法制定で中心的な役割を果たしたことで有名ですが、同時に資本主義の育ての親でもあったのです。この本は、「若き商人への手紙」と「富への道」の訳と解説からできており、ビジネスにおける成功哲学について書いたもの。『バビロンの大富豪』や『金持ち父さん貧乏父さん』など富と成功と幸福を手に入れるための本は、すべてフランクリンの影響を受けていたとも言われている名著。

肉親の失踪、理不尽な死別、名前の忘却……。大切なものを突然に奪われた人々が、都会の片隅で迷い込んだのは、偶然と驚きにみちた世界だった。

Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. No phone, no internet, no shopping. Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is “take it easy.” At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life. But as resistant as he might be, the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull.

Tokyo resident Keiko Furukara has never fit in - neither in her family, nor in school - but when at the age of 18 she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of national convenience store chain Smile Mart, she realizes instantly that she has found her purpose in life. Delighted to be able to exist in a place where the rules of social interaction are crystal clear (many are laid out line-by-line in the store's manual), Keiko does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and mode of speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a "normal" person excellently, more or less.

十月半ばのある日、マーロウはスターンウッド将軍の邸宅に呼び出された。