When the Museum is Closed
Published on 10. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-78730-464-2 (ISBN)
Description
A quirky, joyful queer love story about a lonely museum worker who falls in love with a statue of Venus, from the author of cult hit DIARY OF A VOID
There she stood. A goddess. I was in love with the marble goddess.
Rika Horauchi's new part-time job is to converse with a statue of Venus - in Latin - every Monday, when the museum is closed. Initially reluctant, Rika starts to enjoy her strange new job. Recommended by her old university professor for her exemplary language skills, Rika leads an otherwise unassuming life, working the rest of the week in a frozen-food warehouse.
As Venus comes to life in the quiet of the museum, they talk about everything. Venus opens up new worlds for Rika, both intellectually and emotionally. They soon fall in love. But when the museum's curator, Hashibami, makes it clear he wants to keep Venus for himself, what will Rika do?
When the Museum is Closed is by turns charming, funny and surprising, a surreal take on our most real emotions and concerns: love, loneliness, freedom, perceptions of beauty and how women are seen in society. This fresh and original new novel confirms Emi Yagi as one of the most exciting Japanese writers published in English today.
Translated by Yuki Tejima
There she stood. A goddess. I was in love with the marble goddess.
Rika Horauchi's new part-time job is to converse with a statue of Venus - in Latin - every Monday, when the museum is closed. Initially reluctant, Rika starts to enjoy her strange new job. Recommended by her old university professor for her exemplary language skills, Rika leads an otherwise unassuming life, working the rest of the week in a frozen-food warehouse.
As Venus comes to life in the quiet of the museum, they talk about everything. Venus opens up new worlds for Rika, both intellectually and emotionally. They soon fall in love. But when the museum's curator, Hashibami, makes it clear he wants to keep Venus for himself, what will Rika do?
When the Museum is Closed is by turns charming, funny and surprising, a surreal take on our most real emotions and concerns: love, loneliness, freedom, perceptions of beauty and how women are seen in society. This fresh and original new novel confirms Emi Yagi as one of the most exciting Japanese writers published in English today.
Translated by Yuki Tejima
Reviews / Votes
A dreamlike take on desire, loneliness, and the transformative power of being perceived by others * Electric Literature * [Its] gentle surrealism nevertheless exposes truths about loneliness, beauty, and queer love . . . Fans of Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here will appreciate Yagi's blend of dark humor and empathy for her characters, while the unconventional love story may appeal to fans of Sky Daddy by Kate Folk or Blob by Maggie Su * Booklist * I was captivated by Rika's strange, frozen world, filled with movement and passion - a perfectly contained and luminous story that reveals a whole world of desire and possibility, right at the heart of loneliness -- Rosie Price, author of THE ORANGE ROOM Another surreal delight * Shelf Awareness * I quickly became addicted and found myself thinking about it long after I had finished -- ***** READER REVIEW Filled with comedy, yet it constantly makes the reader question societal norms -- ***** READER REVIEW Unlike anything I've ever read! -- **** READER REVIEW Effortlessly blends the everyday with the fantastical. A celebration of non-conformity and freedom from society's constraints... I found it completely gripping -- **** READER REVIEW Refreshing and unpredictable. I would recommend this book to those who want a short but thought-provoking read -- **** READER REVIEW Delightful if at times unsettling, this is a book that I'm sure will stick with me -- **** READER REVIEWMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 214 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
179 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78730-464-2 (9781787304642)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Emi Yagi
When the Museum is Closed
A joyful queer love story from the author of Japanese cult hit Diary of a Void
E-Book
07/2025
Vintage Digital
€14.99
Available for download
Persons
Emi Yagi (Author)
Emi Yagi is an editor at a women's magazine in Japan. She was born in 1988 and lives in Tokyo. Her first novel and international cult hit, Diary of a Void, won the Osamu Dazai Prize, awarded annually to the best debut work of fiction.
Yuki Tejima (Translator)
Yuki Tejima is the translator of Mizuki Tsujimura's Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon and How to Hold Someone in Your Heart, Kumi Kimura's Someone to Watch Over You, and the sequel to Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's bestselling memoir, Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window 2. She moved from the US to Tokyo, where she now lives.
Emi Yagi is an editor at a women's magazine in Japan. She was born in 1988 and lives in Tokyo. Her first novel and international cult hit, Diary of a Void, won the Osamu Dazai Prize, awarded annually to the best debut work of fiction.
Yuki Tejima (Translator)
Yuki Tejima is the translator of Mizuki Tsujimura's Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon and How to Hold Someone in Your Heart, Kumi Kimura's Someone to Watch Over You, and the sequel to Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's bestselling memoir, Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window 2. She moved from the US to Tokyo, where she now lives.