Amelie Nothomb, a Francophone Belgian now living in Paris, was born in Kobe to diplomat parents. The popular French-language novelist has published 24 books during the past 16 years, ten of which have been translated into English. She’s also a winner of the French Academy’s Grand Prix for the Novel.

“Tokyo Fiancée,” a translation of Nothomb’s 2007 autobiographical novel “Ni d’Eve, ni d’Adam,” is a straightforward account of a love affair between a 21-year-old Belgian girl and a Japanese university student named Rinri. To set the scene, the first-person narrator (who shares her first name with author) returns to Japan in 1989 after an absence of 16 years. The book’s opening sentence — “The most efficient way to learn Japanese, it seemed, would be to teach French” — efficiently serves to introduce Rinri, who calls to arrange a sample lesson in an Omotesando cafe.

Product details: English language paperback; 160 pages; publisher: Europa Editions (December 30, 2008); 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches