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Nagai Surumi

ながい するみ

Nagai Surumi

Pen Names: Nagai Surumi（Author name (real name: Yuko Matsumoto)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1961-08-12 （Tokyo, Japan）
Died
2010-09-03 age 49
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tokyo (birthplace / residence) → Hokkaido (studied at Hokkaido University)

Career

Occupations
novelist, writer
Active Years
1995-2010

Education

Tokyo University of the Arts
Faculty of Music
Period: 〜1983
Country: Japan
Dropped out
Hokkaido University
Faculty of Agriculture / Agricultural Biology
Degree: 学士
Period: 1984-1987
Year of Graduation: 1987
Country: Japan

Awards

Sogen Mystery Short Story Prize (finalist)
1995
Work: Rurikouji
Organization: Tokyo Sogen-sha
Result: finalist
Kyushu Saga Popular Literature Prize
1996
Work: Marigold
Organization: Kyushu Saga Popular Literature Prize Committee
Result: winner
Shousetsu Mystery Newcomer Award
1996
Work: Rinjin (The Neighbor)
Organization: Futabasha (Shousetsu Mystery)
Result: winner
Shincho Mystery Club Prize
1997
Work: Karezou
Organization: Shinchosha
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Karezou

1997 Mystery

A full-length mystery novel that gained critical attention and won the Shincho Mystery Club Prize.

human psychologydetective puzzle

Summer of 80% Cacao

2007 YA mystery

A youth-centered novel; has been translated into Korean.

coming-of-agegrowthmystery
Translations
  • Korean edition: '카카오 80%의 여름' (2008)

There Are No Angels (contains 'Marigold')

2001 Short story collection

A collection of short stories. The included story 'Marigold' was adapted for television.

everyday darknesshuman relationships
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Marigold (part of the 'June Bride' series) (2005)

Bibliography

  • Karezou
  • Jubaku
  • Millennium
  • The Great Audience
  • Windbreak
  • All That Follows After the Lips
  • Hope
  • I Did Not Intend to Look Down
  • Binetu: The Allure of Beautiful Skin
  • Sakurasou
  • Double
  • I Want
  • Summer of 80% Cacao
  • Gradation
  • Brother-in-law
  • Granita
  • Autumn of Red Mascara
  • I Haven't Done Anything Bad
  • Too Early for Manolo Blahnik
  • Run Away

Adaptations

  • Marigold (TV drama, 2005)
  • Binetu: The Allure of Beautiful Skin (TV drama, 2006)

Translations of Works

  • Summer of 80% Cacao — Korean translation '카카오 80%의 여름' (2008)
  • Short story 'Let's Break Up' — included in a Taiwanese anthology (credited as 永井駿海)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
calm, observational proseblend of mystery and human drama
Recurring Motifs
everyday uneasefemale psychologyfamily relationships

Legacy

Nagai Surumi was a Japanese novelist active from the late 1990s to the 2000s, noted for combining delicate portrayals of human emotion with mystery elements. Her short and long works were sometimes adapted for screen and she left a notable mark on the domestic mystery scene.

In Popular Culture

  • Short story 'Marigold' adapted for TV drama (2005)
  • 'Binetu' adapted for television (2006)

Trivia

  • Real name: Yuko Matsumoto.
  • A story that was a finalist for the 2nd Sogen Mystery Short Story Prize was included in an anthology.
  • Died on 2010-09-03 while serializing a short-story series; aged 49.