All the Lovers in the Night

is a 2011 novel by Mieko Kawakami, published by Kodansha. It was first published in September 2011 issue of the Japanese literary monthly Gunzo. In 2022, the novel was translated from Japanese into English by Sam Bett and David Boyd. The book is part of a "loosely connected trilogy," following Breasts and Eggs and Heaven. Plot The novel follows Fuyuko Irie, a freelance proofreader in her mid-thirties who lives alone, over the course of about eight months. She starts out describing a life defined by careful routine, devotion to work, and solitude. As she starts to develop friendships with a complicated colleague and a gentle, unusual man, Irie's stable veneer cracks. The story follows Irie's stream of consciousness from the present to memories and dreams. While her character is defined by her difficulty speaking to others and sense of embarrassment, her narration is as if she is speaking to herself: unflinchingly sensuous and intimate, unconcerned with making herself appear attractive. The months in the novel chronicle her dissociation, coming to terms with a secret rape, drinking, and how to understand what others can and cannot see in a person. Reception All the Lovers in the Night was generally well received by critics, including starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus Reviews. and Publishers Weekly. Kirkus called the novel an "unforgettable and masterful work," while Booklist referred to it as "[c]andid and searing." Publishers Weekly wrote, "Kawakami turns this study of a 'dictionary definition of a miserable person,' as Fuyuko calls herself, into an invigorating and empowering portrait."