Sophie Refle lives in Paris. She worked as a freelance translator in Japan for nine years before returning to France in 1999. Prior to living in Japan, she spent four years in Los Angeles, where she worked for Universal Studios and was involved in bringing Universal Studios to Japan. Before that, she'd lived in Japan for five years, mostly in Tokyo, where she moved to upon graduating from the University of Paris III with two degrees, one in English literature and the other in Japanese. Her major translations include Hiromi Kawakami's To Drown and Yu Miri's Poissons nageant contre les pierres.