Shame in the blood - Tetsuo Miura

Considered one of the finest contemporary love stories in modern Japanese literature. The narrator, a young college student, has had two brothers disappear, two sisters lost to suicide and a third sister who is physically disabled. He is determined not only to survive, but to thrive, despite the thought that his family's blood is cursed. Told as six interlocking stories, the novel deepens and becomes infused with a tangible melancholic sadness. First published in Japan, this modern classic has sold over a million copies and has been adapted to film by Obayashi Nobuhiko.