Now in paperback: The first English translation of this classic Japanese novel about finding one’s place in the world is also the coming-of-age story at the heart of anime master Hayao Miyazaki’s final film.

After the death of his father, fifteen-year-old Copper must confront inevitable and enormous change, including the aftermath of his own betrayal of his best friend. Between episodes of Copper’s emerging story, his uncle’s letters share knowledge and offer advice on life’s big questions. Like his namesake Copernicus, Copper looks to the stars and uses his discoveries about the heavens, earth, and human nature to answer the question of how he will live.

First published in 1937, Genzaburō Yoshino’s How Do You Live? has been an important book for Academy Award-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki and is the basis of his final film. Perfect for readers of philosophical fiction like The Alchemist and The Little Prince, How Do You Live? has long been acknowledged in Japan as a crossover classic for young readers as they grow up in a world both infinitely large and unimaginably small.