An award-winning story of love, friendship, and the power of human connection.
Kohei Araki believes that a dictionary is a boat to carry us across the sea of words. But after thirty-seven years of creating dictionaries, it’s time for him to retire and find his replacement.
He discovers a kindred spirit in Mitsuya Majime—a young, disheveled square peg with a penchant for collecting antiquarian books and a background in linguistics—whom he swipes from his company’s sales department.
Along with an energetic, if reluctant, new recruit and an elder linguistics scholar, Majime is tasked with a career-defining accomplishment: completing The Great Passage, a comprehensive 2,900-page tome of the Japanese language. On his journey, Majime discovers friendship, romance, and an incredible dedication to his work, inspired by the words that connect us all.
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“Brian Nishii is the perfect narrator for this audiobook…The book’s translation combined with Nishii’s narration makes the story sound and feel Japanese—there’s a subtle choppiness, and certain word choices and phrases aren’t what native English speakers would say—and it’s all entirely fitting and charming. Nishii smoothly reads the Japanese names and words…The explanations of Japanese word definitions and the inner workings of Japanese business relationships come through beautifully, making this a unique and fascinating listen. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
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