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Asa: The Girl Who Turned into a Pair of Chopsticks
The startling first collection of dark, surreal, and unsettling stories from the international prize-winning author of The Woman in the Purple Skirt.
Asa tries to give her classmate a biscuit.
Nami evades her classmates' playground game of acorn-throwing.
Happy decides she's not interested in doing anything other than lying down on her sofa.
Each of these three stories begins in a reasonable place-but by the end you'll find yourself in another world altogether.
Asa tries to give her classmate a biscuit.
Nami evades her classmates' playground game of acorn-throwing.
Happy decides she's not interested in doing anything other than lying down on her sofa.
Each of these three stories begins in a reasonable place-but by the end you'll find yourself in another world altogether.
191 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2020
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4484 people want to read
About the author
Natsuko Imamura
8 books238 followersSee: 今村 夏子
Natsuko Imamura is a Japanese writer. She has been nominated three times for the Akutagawa Prize, and won the prize in 2019. She has also won the Dazai Osamu Prize, the Mishima Yukio Prize, the Kawai Hayao Story Prize, and the Noma Literary New Face Prize.
Natsuko Imamura is a Japanese writer. She has been nominated three times for the Akutagawa Prize, and won the prize in 2019. She has also won the Dazai Osamu Prize, the Mishima Yukio Prize, the Kawai Hayao Story Prize, and the Noma Literary New Face Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 315 reviews
April 17, 2024
In these three short pieces Natsuko Imamura reflects on women’s alienation and the possibility of transformation. As Sayaka Murata notes, in her afterword, this is fiction which dissolves the boundaries between reality and fantasy. The first features Asa a girl who’s desperate to nurture everyone around her but is continually snubbed, even the goldfish at school refuses to eat when it’s her turn to feed him. In a process that lies somewhere between mythical metamorphosis and religious reincarnation, Asa becomes a tree and later disposable chopsticks which enables her to finally fulfil her desire. Simply told, Imamura’s account of Asa’s experiences - including the symbolism of chopsticks in Japanese culture – seems to deliberately echo aspects of Shintoism and animism, beliefs in which inanimate objects possess the potential to house spirits. All of which gives this a fable-like quality. But Imamura’s treatment of her material, her choice of settings and characters combine to form a disturbing commentary on contemporary society: partly focused on gender and self-sacrifice, partly broader issues around waste, disposability and needless consumption.
The next entry also revolves around an isolated girl desperate to satisfy her desires. Imamura’s narrative’s an oblique, moving examination of impoverished women, trauma, mental health and exclusion from mainstream society. Imamura introduces Nami, following her from child to adult. Nami has a strange ability whatever’s thrown at her she’s never hit. This attribute enrages her schoolmates and teachers who notice that when they play games like dodgeball, she’s always the last one standing. Singled out as peculiar, Nami begins to hit herself, self-harm which results in commitment to a psychiatric unit. But here she’s exposed to different, unexpected forms of violence and exploitation which end up blighting her entire life.
The final piece links to earlier themes around submission and women whose lives are skewed by destructive external forces. It’s narrated by a woman who seems to have slotted into her role as housewife, worker and mother with relative ease but she’s secretly haunted by events from her youth. Unable to fall in line with social and cultural expectations, she ran away to live like a cat, on all fours, scavenging for food. She met a boy who’d also become a cat, forming a tentative bond that was brutally ruptured. Although it’s evident that even as a cat the woman failed to evade a more submissive role. Imamura’s writing’s inventive and fluid, I found these stories gripping and tantalisingly complex, but her overall perspective on women’s prospects appears bleak. Although the women in her fiction each triumph in some sense, their achievements come at, what seemed, an exceptionally high price. Translated by Lucy North. Afterword translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Faber for an ARC
The next entry also revolves around an isolated girl desperate to satisfy her desires. Imamura’s narrative’s an oblique, moving examination of impoverished women, trauma, mental health and exclusion from mainstream society. Imamura introduces Nami, following her from child to adult. Nami has a strange ability whatever’s thrown at her she’s never hit. This attribute enrages her schoolmates and teachers who notice that when they play games like dodgeball, she’s always the last one standing. Singled out as peculiar, Nami begins to hit herself, self-harm which results in commitment to a psychiatric unit. But here she’s exposed to different, unexpected forms of violence and exploitation which end up blighting her entire life.
The final piece links to earlier themes around submission and women whose lives are skewed by destructive external forces. It’s narrated by a woman who seems to have slotted into her role as housewife, worker and mother with relative ease but she’s secretly haunted by events from her youth. Unable to fall in line with social and cultural expectations, she ran away to live like a cat, on all fours, scavenging for food. She met a boy who’d also become a cat, forming a tentative bond that was brutally ruptured. Although it’s evident that even as a cat the woman failed to evade a more submissive role. Imamura’s writing’s inventive and fluid, I found these stories gripping and tantalisingly complex, but her overall perspective on women’s prospects appears bleak. Although the women in her fiction each triumph in some sense, their achievements come at, what seemed, an exceptionally high price. Translated by Lucy North. Afterword translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Faber for an ARC
December 8, 2024
Asa: The Girl Who Turned into a Pair of Chopsticks by Natsuko Imamura is a mind-bender for sure. It starts with this wild idea of a girl transforming into chopsticks, and that's pretty cool. But honestly, it leaves me scratching my head a bit.
Here's the thing: the story is like a weird dream you can't quite grasp. It throws out these strange metaphors, especially about Asa turning into chopsticks, and you never really understand why things happen the way they do. It's like Imamura whispers the meaning in your ear, but you only catch half of it.
I really wanted to connect with Asa, but it feels like this girl is so hard to connect with. You'll never really get to know her, or the other characters in this novel. They're like players in a strange play, and I'm just watching from the nosebleed seats wondering: what is this?
The story brings up interesting stuff, like how society can make you feel like a nobody, and how we all just want to find our place in the world. But it leaves you hanging. There are no real answers, no big "aha!" moments. It's like the author sets the table for a feast, but then serves you a single cryptic fortune cookie.
Now, don't get me wrong, you might love this kind of heady, ambiguous story. But if you're looking for something clear-cut with a satisfying ending, this might not be your cup of tea (or should I say, pair of chopsticks?).
2.4 / 5 stars.
Here's the thing: the story is like a weird dream you can't quite grasp. It throws out these strange metaphors, especially about Asa turning into chopsticks, and you never really understand why things happen the way they do. It's like Imamura whispers the meaning in your ear, but you only catch half of it.
I really wanted to connect with Asa, but it feels like this girl is so hard to connect with. You'll never really get to know her, or the other characters in this novel. They're like players in a strange play, and I'm just watching from the nosebleed seats wondering: what is this?
The story brings up interesting stuff, like how society can make you feel like a nobody, and how we all just want to find our place in the world. But it leaves you hanging. There are no real answers, no big "aha!" moments. It's like the author sets the table for a feast, but then serves you a single cryptic fortune cookie.
Now, don't get me wrong, you might love this kind of heady, ambiguous story. But if you're looking for something clear-cut with a satisfying ending, this might not be your cup of tea (or should I say, pair of chopsticks?).
2.4 / 5 stars.
June 2, 2024
The three short stories in this book will not be to everyone's taste but if you note that Sayaka Murata has written an afterword you'll already have some inkling that you are heading down strange and wonderful avenues. G
Frankly I loved them all but Nani, Who Wanted To Get Hit (and eventually did) spoke more strongly.
I would say it is purely personal taste because the stories, despite being linked by their oddness, are very different in nature. They all delve into the otherness of our world and the thin veil between what is considered normal and abnormal. It is this aspect of each story that appeals to me. What is life about and where are each of us going.
Asa becomes chopsticks because she has no hope as a human but as a useful tool she becomes invaluable; Nani finds herself unable to join in because of her uniqueness but as the story develops she understands herself more and more; and in A Night To Remember I took the fleeting possibilities that life hands us and the nature of impermanence.
I loved this book and would recommend it highly.
Thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.
Frankly I loved them all but Nani, Who Wanted To Get Hit (and eventually did) spoke more strongly.
I would say it is purely personal taste because the stories, despite being linked by their oddness, are very different in nature. They all delve into the otherness of our world and the thin veil between what is considered normal and abnormal. It is this aspect of each story that appeals to me. What is life about and where are each of us going.
Asa becomes chopsticks because she has no hope as a human but as a useful tool she becomes invaluable; Nani finds herself unable to join in because of her uniqueness but as the story develops she understands herself more and more; and in A Night To Remember I took the fleeting possibilities that life hands us and the nature of impermanence.
I loved this book and would recommend it highly.
Thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.
November 8, 2025
4★ Review — Asa: The Girl Who Turned into Chopsticks
Asa: The Girl Who Turned into Chopsticks is more like a three-course literary tasting menu than a single narrative — each story arrives with its own temperature and aftertaste, and together they make a memorable, slightly strange feast. I’m giving it four stars because the collection is brave, original, and often beautiful, even when it makes you uncomfortable.
1) “Asa”
The title piece is an uncanny fable that reads like a fever dream rendered in plain, careful language. Asa’s transformation into chopsticks is absurd on the surface and quietly devastating underneath: the image becomes a lens for questions about usefulness, identity, and how the people around you treat what you become. The prose here is tactile — you can almost hear the clack of wood — and the author uses domestic details to make the surreal feel inevitable. It’s a smart, elegant parable about agency and objectification, and it lingers.
2) “Nami Who Wanted to Get Hit”
This second story is the collection’s most difficult and risk-taking piece. It follows Nami, a character whose compulsion to be struck exists at the messy intersection of longing, punishment, and a history that the story gently reveals rather than explains. The writing doesn’t sensationalize Nami’s desire; instead it excavates the emotional logic behind it, asking uncomfortable questions about consent, shame, and the body as a site of negotiation. Some readers will find it harrowing; others will appreciate how honestly it confronts the textures of pain and desire. It’s a provocative, uncompromising piece that proves the author isn’t afraid to write into the gray areas of human behavior.
3) The Closing Tale
The third story — quieter and more elegiac than the second — acts as a kind of tonal reset. Where the first and second push weirdness and moral ambiguity, the final tale pares things down: small acts, domestic regrets, and a slow unspooling of memory. It doesn’t tie everything in neat bows, but its restraint is welcome after the intensity of Nami’s story. This piece shows the author’s range: they can shock and unsettle, yes, but also render ordinary sorrow with real tenderness.
Overall impressions
The collection is strongest when it trusts its surreal images and when it keeps the emotional stakes real. The author’s prose is flexible — sometimes spare and fable-like, sometimes lush and introspective — and that keeps the reader off-balance in a productive way. My only reservations are that the middle story’s subject matter will be polarizing (and some scenes feel deliberately opaque in a way that might frustrate readers who prefer clearer resolution). Also, the tonal jumps between stories can feel abrupt; a reader looking for cohesion might wish for more connective tissue.
Asa: The Girl Who Turned into Chopsticks is more like a three-course literary tasting menu than a single narrative — each story arrives with its own temperature and aftertaste, and together they make a memorable, slightly strange feast. I’m giving it four stars because the collection is brave, original, and often beautiful, even when it makes you uncomfortable.
1) “Asa”
The title piece is an uncanny fable that reads like a fever dream rendered in plain, careful language. Asa’s transformation into chopsticks is absurd on the surface and quietly devastating underneath: the image becomes a lens for questions about usefulness, identity, and how the people around you treat what you become. The prose here is tactile — you can almost hear the clack of wood — and the author uses domestic details to make the surreal feel inevitable. It’s a smart, elegant parable about agency and objectification, and it lingers.
2) “Nami Who Wanted to Get Hit”
This second story is the collection’s most difficult and risk-taking piece. It follows Nami, a character whose compulsion to be struck exists at the messy intersection of longing, punishment, and a history that the story gently reveals rather than explains. The writing doesn’t sensationalize Nami’s desire; instead it excavates the emotional logic behind it, asking uncomfortable questions about consent, shame, and the body as a site of negotiation. Some readers will find it harrowing; others will appreciate how honestly it confronts the textures of pain and desire. It’s a provocative, uncompromising piece that proves the author isn’t afraid to write into the gray areas of human behavior.
3) The Closing Tale
The third story — quieter and more elegiac than the second — acts as a kind of tonal reset. Where the first and second push weirdness and moral ambiguity, the final tale pares things down: small acts, domestic regrets, and a slow unspooling of memory. It doesn’t tie everything in neat bows, but its restraint is welcome after the intensity of Nami’s story. This piece shows the author’s range: they can shock and unsettle, yes, but also render ordinary sorrow with real tenderness.
Overall impressions
The collection is strongest when it trusts its surreal images and when it keeps the emotional stakes real. The author’s prose is flexible — sometimes spare and fable-like, sometimes lush and introspective — and that keeps the reader off-balance in a productive way. My only reservations are that the middle story’s subject matter will be polarizing (and some scenes feel deliberately opaque in a way that might frustrate readers who prefer clearer resolution). Also, the tonal jumps between stories can feel abrupt; a reader looking for cohesion might wish for more connective tissue.
September 24, 2024
I enjoyed three strange stories that blend reality with imagination. They explore our human desire for belonging and the fulfillment of our deepest desires.
I’m not sure if I fully grasped the authors’ intentions, but I believe these stories are open to many interpretations.
🥢🥢
I’m not sure if I fully grasped the authors’ intentions, but I believe these stories are open to many interpretations.
🥢🥢
June 27, 2024
3 stories with a strange out of norm theme on alienation, selfhood and one’s existential crisis. I was intrigued for the title and reading the absorbing titular story really hooked me with Imamura’s way in exploring that bizarre slice-of-life narrative in its decent and naive POV. Did not expect that it will go as literal as the title yet following Asa’s story was both fun and distressing. I was immersed in her life routine digesting the unfamiliarity of her days; almost a life-length journey (in a way) but was too surreal and gasped me on how the narrative explored that ‘greed’ of one’s longing— to feel acknowledged, seen and accepted by others.
2nd story; Nami, Who Wanted To Get Hit (And Eventually Succeeded) was the longest among the 3 and still carrying that same hue of backdrop and theme. I was honestly a bit bored on the exploration (tedious and repetitive) but Nami’s thrilled character at times excites me especially on the later part when it oddly explored her flawed unsettling character. Having a gloomy ending but love how Imamura brought me back to Nami’s past; that ‘you did well, you didn’t give up’ really struck my emotions.
I enjoyed the last story the most for its daydream alike; A Night To Remember which brought me to a perspective of a love-to-just-lying-down-doing-nothing-at-home woman who suddenly gets to explore the adventure of the outside due to an incident at home and finds someone to hangout with. I love how playful the narrative goes and cunningly confused me on the characterization— tricky and so mysterious.
A love-hate with the author’s monotonous writing style but that bleak discomfort twists in its overall plots as well how each having that provocative view on society really grasped the collection as an exceptionally written for me.
3.7/5 stars.
Thank you Times Reads for the gifted proof copy!
2nd story; Nami, Who Wanted To Get Hit (And Eventually Succeeded) was the longest among the 3 and still carrying that same hue of backdrop and theme. I was honestly a bit bored on the exploration (tedious and repetitive) but Nami’s thrilled character at times excites me especially on the later part when it oddly explored her flawed unsettling character. Having a gloomy ending but love how Imamura brought me back to Nami’s past; that ‘you did well, you didn’t give up’ really struck my emotions.
I enjoyed the last story the most for its daydream alike; A Night To Remember which brought me to a perspective of a love-to-just-lying-down-doing-nothing-at-home woman who suddenly gets to explore the adventure of the outside due to an incident at home and finds someone to hangout with. I love how playful the narrative goes and cunningly confused me on the characterization— tricky and so mysterious.
A love-hate with the author’s monotonous writing style but that bleak discomfort twists in its overall plots as well how each having that provocative view on society really grasped the collection as an exceptionally written for me.
3.7/5 stars.
Thank you Times Reads for the gifted proof copy!
May 9, 2024
Hmmm now maybe I also want to be a pair of chopsticks. This is a collection of three novellas by the author of The Woman in the Purple Skirt. That book sent me into a complete existential crisis and I absolutely love how strange and surreal her books are. These stories were so weird but addictive and I think she is a real unique voice in contemporary Japanese fiction. I loved how the novellas were ever so slightly intertwined and suggests this huge world where all the crazy things are happening simultaneously under our noses without us realizing. It was great to read the afterward by Sayaka Murata too as she is an author I absolutely love and I can see why both of these writers admire each other. Will definitely be reading anything I can from Imamura because she is so great.
December 2, 2025
Three surreal, unusual stories featuring illusion or delusion, as an alternate way to perceive the world.
This was a quick, mind-bending listen.
This was a quick, mind-bending listen.
January 9, 2024
Atunci când vrea să dăruiască mâncare sau să servească pe cineva, Asa este refuzată, așa că decide să se transforme într-un copac (cedru), pentru ca apoi să se transforme în bețișoare de mâncat; Nami considera că viața nu-i este completă dacă cineva-cândva nu o nimerește cu orice (minge, pumn, frisbee, doze goale etc.); cea de-a treia poveste depășește cumva aceste granițe, fiind mai mult o poveste de dragoste într-o atmosferă ireală, improbabilă.
Aș putea spune că povestirile lui Natsuko Imamuna sunt exprimente literare, mai ales în ceea ce privește subiectul ales, cu o ușoară alură suprarealistă, dar încadrată perfect în exotismul societății și literaturii nipone. Cert este că le voi uita cu rapiditate, nu am fost impresionat.
Aș putea spune că povestirile lui Natsuko Imamuna sunt exprimente literare, mai ales în ceea ce privește subiectul ales, cu o ușoară alură suprarealistă, dar încadrată perfect în exotismul societății și literaturii nipone. Cert este că le voi uita cu rapiditate, nu am fost impresionat.
June 25, 2024
أدب ياباني 🇯🇵✨
ثلاث قصص قصيرة نُشرت من قبل في مجلة أدبية بونغاكوكاي اليابانية على فترات متباعدة...
و هم
- آسيا ،، الفتاة التى تحولت إلى زوج من عيدان الطعام ...
- نامي ،، الذي أراد أن يحصل على الضربة و نجح في نهاية المطاف ...
- ليلة يجب أن نتذكرها ...
لكل قصة فيهم تعبر عن درس اخلاقي معين ،، مستعينا باسفار من العهد الجديد للدين المسيحي ...
قد تكون للوهلة الاولى انها قصص خيالية ،، و لكن انت لن و لم تتعلم الدرس الا عندما يُحكي لك على هيئة قصة خيالية يا عزيزى/تي ...
و من الكاتب لهذه القصص المثيرة !!
هو ناتسوكو إمامورا ،، وُلِد في هيروشيما/اليابان سنة 1980
حتى أنه فاز بالعديد من الجوائز الأدبية اليابانية المرموقة بما فيها جائزة الواجهة الجديدة للساما ...
#bookswithwalaa
ثلاث قصص قصيرة نُشرت من قبل في مجلة أدبية بونغاكوكاي اليابانية على فترات متباعدة...
و هم
- آسيا ،، الفتاة التى تحولت إلى زوج من عيدان الطعام ...
- نامي ،، الذي أراد أن يحصل على الضربة و نجح في نهاية المطاف ...
- ليلة يجب أن نتذكرها ...
لكل قصة فيهم تعبر عن درس اخلاقي معين ،، مستعينا باسفار من العهد الجديد للدين المسيحي ...
قد تكون للوهلة الاولى انها قصص خيالية ،، و لكن انت لن و لم تتعلم الدرس الا عندما يُحكي لك على هيئة قصة خيالية يا عزيزى/تي ...
و من الكاتب لهذه القصص المثيرة !!
هو ناتسوكو إمامورا ،، وُلِد في هيروشيما/اليابان سنة 1980
حتى أنه فاز بالعديد من الجوائز الأدبية اليابانية المرموقة بما فيها جائزة الواجهة الجديدة للساما ...
#bookswithwalaa
August 18, 2024
There is always the quiet amusement of bizarre stories crafted so delicately in the hands of a talented writer whom with her words spun a world deviated from reality but to what point do we even have the authority to indicate whats real, whats not, whats are the norm and whats outside of it. These stories aren't merely strange or weird for no reason. They are cleverly executed as a form of storytelling to highlight the oddness & unrealistic life can be at its peak.
Natsuko Imamura crafted bizarre stories so delicately in this collection of 3 stories where various characters are alienated or distanced from society. These surreal, odd stories are about these women's voices, their desperation to be needed, to be seen. All 3 stories were fascinating, they started as normal but soon take a twisted turn by the half of the story which becomes compelling& head scratching. Always amazed by the author's way of writing stories that challenges expectations on the norm.
Asa is a plain girl who love making foods, preparing foods for others but sadly no one want to eat the foods she made as if repelled by the notion of eating what she prepared. Being rejected again & again had changed Asa to become a huge trer which then led her to finally turned into a pair of chopsticks. Being chopsticks, Asa is needed by the young man for him to eat his food, she accompanied his mealtimes & finally accepted as she is as well of the others in the house. A brilliant story that took me off guard but how clever it is to symbolize the unwantedness of these people as they desperately want to be recognized for their worth. Its sad as the people found it difficult to live in such a harsh world & get discarded aside as if they are worthless.
The second story of Nami who wants to give up is the longest in here, following the same theme of her not being able to get hit by others and the people surrounding always cheered her to not give up. As she always get dodged from being hit from dodgeball to the can to anything that led to her declining mental health as she end up beating herself when no one did so. The whole story become so much effed up witb her being manipulated into a sexual relation with an older doctor, to her pregnancy & living as a single mother and its really hard to read for how unstable her emotional mental state and the ending, gosh the ending 😭.
The third story is weird but kind of funny. Delving into a young unemployed woman that stayed in the house & get kicked out by her father and she who only now crawling with her hands go to the street and was brought home by another similar male like her. This got me scratching my head in confusion as the whole story felt a bit like a fever dream clouded in realistic imagination yet the whole thing unraveled into something more concrete by the end.
Book 6 #WITmonth
Thank you Times Reads for the review copy
Natsuko Imamura crafted bizarre stories so delicately in this collection of 3 stories where various characters are alienated or distanced from society. These surreal, odd stories are about these women's voices, their desperation to be needed, to be seen. All 3 stories were fascinating, they started as normal but soon take a twisted turn by the half of the story which becomes compelling& head scratching. Always amazed by the author's way of writing stories that challenges expectations on the norm.
Asa is a plain girl who love making foods, preparing foods for others but sadly no one want to eat the foods she made as if repelled by the notion of eating what she prepared. Being rejected again & again had changed Asa to become a huge trer which then led her to finally turned into a pair of chopsticks. Being chopsticks, Asa is needed by the young man for him to eat his food, she accompanied his mealtimes & finally accepted as she is as well of the others in the house. A brilliant story that took me off guard but how clever it is to symbolize the unwantedness of these people as they desperately want to be recognized for their worth. Its sad as the people found it difficult to live in such a harsh world & get discarded aside as if they are worthless.
The second story of Nami who wants to give up is the longest in here, following the same theme of her not being able to get hit by others and the people surrounding always cheered her to not give up. As she always get dodged from being hit from dodgeball to the can to anything that led to her declining mental health as she end up beating herself when no one did so. The whole story become so much effed up witb her being manipulated into a sexual relation with an older doctor, to her pregnancy & living as a single mother and its really hard to read for how unstable her emotional mental state and the ending, gosh the ending 😭.
The third story is weird but kind of funny. Delving into a young unemployed woman that stayed in the house & get kicked out by her father and she who only now crawling with her hands go to the street and was brought home by another similar male like her. This got me scratching my head in confusion as the whole story felt a bit like a fever dream clouded in realistic imagination yet the whole thing unraveled into something more concrete by the end.
Book 6 #WITmonth
Thank you Times Reads for the review copy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2024
The cover and title are what made me add this to my tbr, and learning that Sayaka Murata (whose Convenience Store Woman I loved) wrote the Afterword only heightened my interest.
The stories within start normal enough but soon veer into bizarre and unsettling territory, leaving you questioning reality—a truly surreal experience. Beneath the surface, the book cleverly explores the role of women in society and their desires. It also tackles complex topics such as loneliness, rejection, and self-harm.
Can't wait to read The Woman in the Purple Skirt soon!
The stories within start normal enough but soon veer into bizarre and unsettling territory, leaving you questioning reality—a truly surreal experience. Beneath the surface, the book cleverly explores the role of women in society and their desires. It also tackles complex topics such as loneliness, rejection, and self-harm.
Can't wait to read The Woman in the Purple Skirt soon!
August 9, 2024
I would like to thank Natalia for providing me with a pre-release copy of this book. Didn’t even read it before it released but I’ve always wanted to say that.
AGHHHHHHH this was so bad i’m so sorry. the stories dragged out for far too long. the writing was so juvenile that it felt like you were reading a children’s book (possibly written by a child) that just had really dark themes. each ending was so pointless. they could’ve been some interesting metaphor or exploration of what it means to be an outcast, but it just felt like the point of each story was to be random xd. the characters act irrationally, seemingly for no good reason. i will not reward storytelling as “disruptive” or “groundbreaking” for simply being whacky if it fails to make a statement, let alone comment on anything whatsoever. in the year of our lord 2024, writing stories about women doing unthinkable acts as a way to comment on ~society’s expectations on women~ is not enough if you’re not gonna discuss it with nuance. Han Kang did it best with The Vegetarian all the way back in 2007. none of these stories even come close to touching that book. the protagonist in the first story even turns into a tree; it feels like a cheap rip off. do better.
let me exemplify my beef with the second story (longest of the three): the first god knows how many pages (far too many) repeat very similar occurrences throughout the protagonist’s childhood. the same concept repeats over and over (her being targeted by someone throwing stuff at her, but never being hit) with no progression from one instance to the next. the writing details the event for many pages in agonising detail EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. throughout the story, and especially towards the end, there is so much potential to explore many interesting topics (grooming, self harm, the cycle of abuse and specifically child neglect & abuse, rehab, homelessness) but there is absolutely no nuanced discussion of any of this, not even a look into the psyche of the characters who are committing and being victimised by these acts. the protagonist dies for no good reason. the end.
idk man i think short stories are just not for me, but this small collection in particular was NOT IT.
AGHHHHHHH this was so bad i’m so sorry. the stories dragged out for far too long. the writing was so juvenile that it felt like you were reading a children’s book (possibly written by a child) that just had really dark themes. each ending was so pointless. they could’ve been some interesting metaphor or exploration of what it means to be an outcast, but it just felt like the point of each story was to be random xd. the characters act irrationally, seemingly for no good reason. i will not reward storytelling as “disruptive” or “groundbreaking” for simply being whacky if it fails to make a statement, let alone comment on anything whatsoever. in the year of our lord 2024, writing stories about women doing unthinkable acts as a way to comment on ~society’s expectations on women~ is not enough if you’re not gonna discuss it with nuance. Han Kang did it best with The Vegetarian all the way back in 2007. none of these stories even come close to touching that book. the protagonist in the first story even turns into a tree; it feels like a cheap rip off. do better.
let me exemplify my beef with the second story (longest of the three): the first god knows how many pages (far too many) repeat very similar occurrences throughout the protagonist’s childhood. the same concept repeats over and over (her being targeted by someone throwing stuff at her, but never being hit) with no progression from one instance to the next. the writing details the event for many pages in agonising detail EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. throughout the story, and especially towards the end, there is so much potential to explore many interesting topics (grooming, self harm, the cycle of abuse and specifically child neglect & abuse, rehab, homelessness) but there is absolutely no nuanced discussion of any of this, not even a look into the psyche of the characters who are committing and being victimised by these acts. the protagonist dies for no good reason. the end.
idk man i think short stories are just not for me, but this small collection in particular was NOT IT.
June 4, 2024
3 stars, I think I get it.
(BETTER REVIEW COMING TO BUZZ MAG)!
In a few short absurd stories, we get to understand the struggles of different women trying to reach their goals while overcoming impossible obstacles. Obstacles like becoming a pair of chopsticks, not being able to get hit, and the last one I don’t even remember.
It was an interesting, quick read.
(BETTER REVIEW COMING TO BUZZ MAG)!
In a few short absurd stories, we get to understand the struggles of different women trying to reach their goals while overcoming impossible obstacles. Obstacles like becoming a pair of chopsticks, not being able to get hit, and the last one I don’t even remember.
It was an interesting, quick read.
February 1, 2025
The cover and title are what made me pick up this book in the first place. The fact that Sayaka Murata has written an afterword heightened my interest even further. This collection of three short stories must take place in a strange and surreal world that blur the lines between fiction and reality.
The first story is about Asa who turns into a pair of chopsticks. Nami is the protagonist of the second story who cannot get hit. The third story revolves around a girl who lives as a cat. All the stories tackle topics such as loneliness, rejection, alienation, existentialism, transformation, and mental health. They explore our human desire for belonging, fitting in, and acceptance.
What I love most about these stories is that they are open to many interpretations. I am sure I did not capture the author’s full intentions, but that only leaves room for even more imagination!
The first story is about Asa who turns into a pair of chopsticks. Nami is the protagonist of the second story who cannot get hit. The third story revolves around a girl who lives as a cat. All the stories tackle topics such as loneliness, rejection, alienation, existentialism, transformation, and mental health. They explore our human desire for belonging, fitting in, and acceptance.
What I love most about these stories is that they are open to many interpretations. I am sure I did not capture the author’s full intentions, but that only leaves room for even more imagination!
August 20, 2024
sakura murata says it best: “the words ‘strange’ and ‘mysterious’ are not enough to describe the joy this gives me as a reader”. the three short stories are not just disturbing, they are deeply strange in a way that makes you question why you are trying to find logic in them. why are we trying so hard to make sense of fiction? and do we ever understand the story we are told?
September 17, 2025
If you've read this author's novella, 'This is Amiko, Do You Copy?', you'd know what to expect from this collection of three stories. The main characters do not fit into mainstream society for one reason or another. In the first two stories, this brings some measure of despair, while in the last story, the character is blithely unbothered by her situation. I have to say that I did not expect the second story to be so much longer or so much more painful to read. I kept thinking it might have been better if she died before all this misfortune could have reached her.
(1) Asa
For reasons never explained to her or to the reader, Asa is shunned whenever she tries to serve anyone food. Nobody wants to (or perhaps dares to) eat anything that she makes or holds, not even animals. When she dies young, she turns into a tree that gets made into chopsticks, and for the very first time, the food she serves is accepted.
(2) Nami
Nami is a girl who cannot get hit by anything thrown at her, which has brought her nothing but suffering. It's really depressing especially towards the end but I interpreted it as her inability to soften herself or make herself vulnerable, which then leads to her becoming undesirable. It seems like conforming at the risk of hurt is better than becoming a literal untouchable.
(3) A Night to Remember
A motherless girl spends her days being horizontal. She escapes her family home and encounters a man like her, although that man is being kept as a pet at another household. She agrees to be his wife. Honestly super weird but I wonder if it's saying something about how we don't ever outgrow our childhood inclinations, we only put on a veneer of respectability and normality.
(1) Asa
For reasons never explained to her or to the reader, Asa is shunned whenever she tries to serve anyone food. Nobody wants to (or perhaps dares to) eat anything that she makes or holds, not even animals. When she dies young, she turns into a tree that gets made into chopsticks, and for the very first time, the food she serves is accepted.
(2) Nami
Nami is a girl who cannot get hit by anything thrown at her, which has brought her nothing but suffering. It's really depressing especially towards the end but I interpreted it as her inability to soften herself or make herself vulnerable, which then leads to her becoming undesirable. It seems like conforming at the risk of hurt is better than becoming a literal untouchable.
(3) A Night to Remember
A motherless girl spends her days being horizontal. She escapes her family home and encounters a man like her, although that man is being kept as a pet at another household. She agrees to be his wife. Honestly super weird but I wonder if it's saying something about how we don't ever outgrow our childhood inclinations, we only put on a veneer of respectability and normality.
July 21, 2025
A very unusual little book. It’s made up of three short stories that are pretty surreal and quietly sad, but also quite touching in their own way. The title story about a girl turning into a pair of chopsticks is strangely lovely. The others are a bit darker and more bizarre, but they all explore people who don’t quite fit in. It’s a quick read and won’t be for everyone, but if you like odd, thought-provoking fiction, it’s worth picking up.
November 29, 2024
the second story was devastating and dark and it’s something I’ll never forget. if you’re planning to read this book, I’d recommend taking breaks and reading other books in between. going through all the stories in a row felt overwhelming and exhausting.
short story 1 - asa: the girl who turned into a pair of chopsticks 3.5/5
short story 2 - nami, who wanted to get hit (and eventually succeeded) 4/5
short story 3 - a night to remember 3/5
short story 1 - asa: the girl who turned into a pair of chopsticks 3.5/5
short story 2 - nami, who wanted to get hit (and eventually succeeded) 4/5
short story 3 - a night to remember 3/5
June 3, 2025
Love a weird Japanese fiction book and this did have some fun strange elements but just not super impactful for me.
I liked how each story explored a character rejecting the life society expects them to live, but really taking this concept to the extreme. The little blurb at the end by Sayaka Murata was also cool - girls supporting girls!!
I liked how each story explored a character rejecting the life society expects them to live, but really taking this concept to the extreme. The little blurb at the end by Sayaka Murata was also cool - girls supporting girls!!
Read
July 8, 2024 review to come
November 7, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up.
I found all of these stories really interesting, but I thought they went for too long- there were definitely points in each story where I thought it was the perfect ending point, so I did loose my initial interest in each of them. Would read from this author again though
I found all of these stories really interesting, but I thought they went for too long- there were definitely points in each story where I thought it was the perfect ending point, so I did loose my initial interest in each of them. Would read from this author again though
July 22, 2024
It takes a certain patience for stories that are written with authors like Natsuko Imamura, but once you're hooked inside, there's no way out, and you find yourself falling deeper in the stories that almost felt like a fevered dream. You will ask time and time again, wether what you're reading will surpass what us, as 'normal' beings, thoroughly understand what the author is trying to say. And with stories like these, they don't necessarily need to be understood, but more of - is in the art of perception and how far are we willing to let something surpass the beliefs that we grew up with.
The book consists of three short stories , translated by Lucy North and an afterword from one of my favourite authors ever , Sayaka Murata, which was translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori. And if you're familiar with how Sayaka Murata writes, a book with an afterword from her is already so telling of what the story will take course, and it really did not disappoint me.
At the very surface of these three stories are of women, who are peculiar in their own sense. But when we looked down deeper, there is a root cause that leads from the root of society, of how women are being treated and the expectations that lies of women in society. These peculiarities stems from a deep sense of loneliness and longing that somehow will enable someone to act beyond the norms of someone normal.
In ASA: The Girl Who Turned into A Pair of Chopsticks, we follow Asa, a girl who longs to be accepted by everyone around her. Like the title, it became to a point that she became a pair of chopsticks instead. This story has a deep sense of dread, where we won't know what to expect to happen to Asa. The loneliness that has embedded way too deep and how it reflects a woman wanting to be acknowledged makes it heartbreaking to read. Even the ending had got me teary eyed as we Imamura brings us through the perspectives of abandonment and the feeling of humans to want to be cherished and acknowledged, even if, they were a pair of chopsticks that deems almost unusable to anyone.
In Name, Who Wanted to Get Hit (and eventually succeeded),is the story that got me on a roller coaster of emotions at most. Its a depiction of expectations from women in society and when its all torn down, the helplessness that happens after, where the emotional damage occurs after. The first half of the story is repetitive at the very best but the second half had gotten me so so sad. The instincts of motherhood and the fight to live as a human.
And A Night to Remember is one of those stories where you will really feel that the stories that you are reading feels like a dream. The societal expectations of a woman and where you will deem as a whole and normal once you fulfil it.
These stories sets a tone to the peculiars who didn't find a place in the world. Stories like this reminded me that you are never truly entirely alone. Some things will border through the lines of reality but its one that found me through an episode in my life in which it soothes the darkness through the stories of these imperfect characters. And at the end, like what Murata said in her afterword about this book :
This book is not for everyone, but its one for those who felt alienated and alone from the world. This book won't entirely satiate you from that fact but it gives a kind of satisfaction that is unlike any other. And that, lies the strength in Imamura's writing.
4.5🌟 for this!
Thank you to Times Reads for this copy!
The book consists of three short stories , translated by Lucy North and an afterword from one of my favourite authors ever , Sayaka Murata, which was translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori. And if you're familiar with how Sayaka Murata writes, a book with an afterword from her is already so telling of what the story will take course, and it really did not disappoint me.
At the very surface of these three stories are of women, who are peculiar in their own sense. But when we looked down deeper, there is a root cause that leads from the root of society, of how women are being treated and the expectations that lies of women in society. These peculiarities stems from a deep sense of loneliness and longing that somehow will enable someone to act beyond the norms of someone normal.
In ASA: The Girl Who Turned into A Pair of Chopsticks, we follow Asa, a girl who longs to be accepted by everyone around her. Like the title, it became to a point that she became a pair of chopsticks instead. This story has a deep sense of dread, where we won't know what to expect to happen to Asa. The loneliness that has embedded way too deep and how it reflects a woman wanting to be acknowledged makes it heartbreaking to read. Even the ending had got me teary eyed as we Imamura brings us through the perspectives of abandonment and the feeling of humans to want to be cherished and acknowledged, even if, they were a pair of chopsticks that deems almost unusable to anyone.
In Name, Who Wanted to Get Hit (and eventually succeeded),is the story that got me on a roller coaster of emotions at most. Its a depiction of expectations from women in society and when its all torn down, the helplessness that happens after, where the emotional damage occurs after. The first half of the story is repetitive at the very best but the second half had gotten me so so sad. The instincts of motherhood and the fight to live as a human.
And A Night to Remember is one of those stories where you will really feel that the stories that you are reading feels like a dream. The societal expectations of a woman and where you will deem as a whole and normal once you fulfil it.
These stories sets a tone to the peculiars who didn't find a place in the world. Stories like this reminded me that you are never truly entirely alone. Some things will border through the lines of reality but its one that found me through an episode in my life in which it soothes the darkness through the stories of these imperfect characters. And at the end, like what Murata said in her afterword about this book :
"The power of words from which these stories have been spun...
- at how, seen from other angles, the words linger in this book sometimes bewitchingly, and at other times bizarrely. It is as though the miracle of reading has itself become a living creature within this book, and this is its charm."
This book is not for everyone, but its one for those who felt alienated and alone from the world. This book won't entirely satiate you from that fact but it gives a kind of satisfaction that is unlike any other. And that, lies the strength in Imamura's writing.
4.5🌟 for this!
Thank you to Times Reads for this copy!
June 22, 2024
Alienasi dan Obsesi
Sepertinya dua perkara ini menjadi sangat kental dibahasakan dalam kumpulan cerpen ini. Pada dua buku sebelumnya, dua perkara ini memang sudah menjadi hal yang dibahas dengan sangat asyik. Tapi di tiga cerpen ini jelas sekali, itu menjadi semacam fokus suara dalam karya Natsuko Imamura.
Ada tiga cerpen yang sukup panjang
(1) Asa: The Girl Who Turned Into a Pair of Chopsticks
(2) Nami, Who Wanted to Get Hit (and Eventually Succeeded)
(3) A Night to Remember
Cerpen pertama, Asa: The Girl Who Turned Into a Pair of Chopsticks si Asa ini sungguh bold, pesannya langsung makjlen bahkan sedari awal. Cerpen ini yang pas buka kindle mencicip oke aku menyukainya….
Ini berkisah soal Asa yang sedari kelas 1 SD ditolak pemberian makanan darinya. Selalu saja ada alasan untuk menolak: jatuh cinta sama kawan sekelasnya dibuatkan kue dengan kacang dan resin, ternyata cowok itu tidak makan kacang dan resin. Maka di kesempatan lain dibautkan kukis tanpa kacang dan resin, eh cowok kesukaannya dah pergi pas mau dikasih. Kukis itu dibawa pulang dikasihkan ke neneknya, ternyata tidak makan juga sebab keras. Kukis itu dikasihkan ke ibu, eeeeh kok ya kebetulan ibunya mau medcek, jadi harus puasa.
Teruuuuuus begitu. Bahkan sampai ikan-ikan yang dikasih makan pun tidak menggubris Asa.
Hingga dewasa, hingga suatu kali dia ikut retret. Dan kecelakaan. Dalam masa sekarat itu dia hanya ingin menjadi pohon. Eh beneran jadi pohon. Sayang dia bukan pohon yang memberi buah kepada yang datang, melainkan buah bahan sumpit. jadilah dia sumpit sekali pakai.
Pemuda yang kebetulan membeli ramen dan sumpit sekali pakai ini ternayta seorang hoarder, dan asa yang menjadi sumpit di simpan bertahun-tahun hingga pemuda ini mati. Dan kesempatan ini Asa berjumpa dengan banyak orang yang ditolak sosial:
Cerpen ketiga, ini tidak kalah ajaib. Cerpen, A Night to Remember mengingatkan saya pada film Poor Things pilihan visual-fisik yang menjijikan secara “normal”. Bagaimana tidak, seorang gadis merasa tidak ingin melakukan apa-apa, maunya cuma rebahan, dan memutuskan untuk bergerak dengan perut.
Tokoh perempuan muda yang kemudian di panggil Happy-chan ini kemudian berjalan dengan perut keluar rumah, tidak memancing perhatian umum, dna terjebak pada sebuah lorong gelap, yang menyeramkan dan menakutkan. Pada malam itu dia berjumpa dengan lelaki yang juga berjalan dengan perutnya, Jack. Di sana dia berkenalan dengan keluarga Jack dan dalam semalam ingin dinikahkan, sebab Jack ingin mencari pasangan. Kejadian malam itu terus terkenang, sebagaimana judulnya hingga dewasa dan berumah tangga. Dan ingin napak tilas ke “lorong gelap” itu.
Cerpen kedua, tidak kalah ajaib. Nami dalam Nami, Who Wanted to Get Hit (and Eventually Succeeded) benar-benar mujur hidupnya tidak pernah terbentur/kena pukul jidatnya. Di permainan bola di sekolah di tidak pernah kena, saat ada kerusuhan dia selamat, saat seorang lelaki pengepul kaleng bir ngamuk, dia selamat. Namun, di tengah-tengah putus asanya sebab ingin kena pukul, Nami mukul-mukul sendiri sampai terluka dan dibawa ke rumah sakit. Dia kenalan sama dokter, hubungan sex, sampai hamil. Pergeseran “kekerasan fisik” ke “kekerasan psikis” dalam cerpen ini itu smoooth dan ajib banget. Bagaimana kemudian dia kembali ditinggalkan oleh lelaki yang menghamili, anaknya diadopsi. Jadi pertanyaan bagi Nami, mungkin dia bisa lepas dari pukulan fisik tetapi nyatanya hantaman psikis itu di depan dan begitu nyata.
Aneh sungguh aneh. Tetapi menurutku keintiman membahas bagaimana manusia mengaleniasi sesama ini menarik. Aku menyukai judul ini.
Sepertinya dua perkara ini menjadi sangat kental dibahasakan dalam kumpulan cerpen ini. Pada dua buku sebelumnya, dua perkara ini memang sudah menjadi hal yang dibahas dengan sangat asyik. Tapi di tiga cerpen ini jelas sekali, itu menjadi semacam fokus suara dalam karya Natsuko Imamura.
Ada tiga cerpen yang sukup panjang
(1) Asa: The Girl Who Turned Into a Pair of Chopsticks
(2) Nami, Who Wanted to Get Hit (and Eventually Succeeded)
(3) A Night to Remember
Cerpen pertama, Asa: The Girl Who Turned Into a Pair of Chopsticks si Asa ini sungguh bold, pesannya langsung makjlen bahkan sedari awal. Cerpen ini yang pas buka kindle mencicip oke aku menyukainya….
Ini berkisah soal Asa yang sedari kelas 1 SD ditolak pemberian makanan darinya. Selalu saja ada alasan untuk menolak: jatuh cinta sama kawan sekelasnya dibuatkan kue dengan kacang dan resin, ternyata cowok itu tidak makan kacang dan resin. Maka di kesempatan lain dibautkan kukis tanpa kacang dan resin, eh cowok kesukaannya dah pergi pas mau dikasih. Kukis itu dibawa pulang dikasihkan ke neneknya, ternyata tidak makan juga sebab keras. Kukis itu dikasihkan ke ibu, eeeeh kok ya kebetulan ibunya mau medcek, jadi harus puasa.
Teruuuuuus begitu. Bahkan sampai ikan-ikan yang dikasih makan pun tidak menggubris Asa.
Hingga dewasa, hingga suatu kali dia ikut retret. Dan kecelakaan. Dalam masa sekarat itu dia hanya ingin menjadi pohon. Eh beneran jadi pohon. Sayang dia bukan pohon yang memberi buah kepada yang datang, melainkan buah bahan sumpit. jadilah dia sumpit sekali pakai.
Pemuda yang kebetulan membeli ramen dan sumpit sekali pakai ini ternayta seorang hoarder, dan asa yang menjadi sumpit di simpan bertahun-tahun hingga pemuda ini mati. Dan kesempatan ini Asa berjumpa dengan banyak orang yang ditolak sosial:
Because in addition to Asa the girl who had turned into a pair of chopsticks, there was Mana the girl who had turned into a pillow, Sho the boy who had turned into a doorknob, Yuta the boy who had turned into a quilt, Kaori the girl who had turned into a blanket, Michiru the girl who had turned into a rock, Noriko the girl who had turned into a clothes hanger, Yoshio the boy who had turned into a Peko-chan doll, Akie the girl who had turned into a knapsack, Soichiro the boy who had turned into a potted cactus, and countless others besides. Each of them had in one way or another undergone some painful experience very similar to Asa’s, mostly in their childhood. They had all long ago left this world.
Cerpen ketiga, ini tidak kalah ajaib. Cerpen, A Night to Remember mengingatkan saya pada film Poor Things pilihan visual-fisik yang menjijikan secara “normal”. Bagaimana tidak, seorang gadis merasa tidak ingin melakukan apa-apa, maunya cuma rebahan, dan memutuskan untuk bergerak dengan perut.
As time passed spending whole days doing very little, I gradually started to feel that being bipedal was simply not worth the trouble, and I decided I would try as much as possible not to stand up at all. If I had to get around I would do it by dragging myself forward by my elbows, on my belly.
Tokoh perempuan muda yang kemudian di panggil Happy-chan ini kemudian berjalan dengan perut keluar rumah, tidak memancing perhatian umum, dna terjebak pada sebuah lorong gelap, yang menyeramkan dan menakutkan. Pada malam itu dia berjumpa dengan lelaki yang juga berjalan dengan perutnya, Jack. Di sana dia berkenalan dengan keluarga Jack dan dalam semalam ingin dinikahkan, sebab Jack ingin mencari pasangan. Kejadian malam itu terus terkenang, sebagaimana judulnya hingga dewasa dan berumah tangga. Dan ingin napak tilas ke “lorong gelap” itu.
Cerpen kedua, tidak kalah ajaib. Nami dalam Nami, Who Wanted to Get Hit (and Eventually Succeeded) benar-benar mujur hidupnya tidak pernah terbentur/kena pukul jidatnya. Di permainan bola di sekolah di tidak pernah kena, saat ada kerusuhan dia selamat, saat seorang lelaki pengepul kaleng bir ngamuk, dia selamat. Namun, di tengah-tengah putus asanya sebab ingin kena pukul, Nami mukul-mukul sendiri sampai terluka dan dibawa ke rumah sakit. Dia kenalan sama dokter, hubungan sex, sampai hamil. Pergeseran “kekerasan fisik” ke “kekerasan psikis” dalam cerpen ini itu smoooth dan ajib banget. Bagaimana kemudian dia kembali ditinggalkan oleh lelaki yang menghamili, anaknya diadopsi. Jadi pertanyaan bagi Nami, mungkin dia bisa lepas dari pukulan fisik tetapi nyatanya hantaman psikis itu di depan dan begitu nyata.
Aneh sungguh aneh. Tetapi menurutku keintiman membahas bagaimana manusia mengaleniasi sesama ini menarik. Aku menyukai judul ini.
May 17, 2025
I was deeply moved by every single one of these STUNNING stories.
Phenomenal author I am going to read everything by. 💗💗💗
I am reading every Akutagawa-winning author that has a book in translation — this was my 4th, and they’ve all been incredible and life-changing.
Read it, but ONLY if you already appreciate short, surreal Japanese books that won’t answer any of your questions and have simple prose (lyrical prose does not automatically make a book good!).
The second story goes in a healing-fiction direction, so if you look down on that niche, you won’t like this.
This was 100% up my alley and much better than I expected. I’m in love.
Phenomenal author I am going to read everything by. 💗💗💗
I am reading every Akutagawa-winning author that has a book in translation — this was my 4th, and they’ve all been incredible and life-changing.
Read it, but ONLY if you already appreciate short, surreal Japanese books that won’t answer any of your questions and have simple prose (lyrical prose does not automatically make a book good!).
The second story goes in a healing-fiction direction, so if you look down on that niche, you won’t like this.
This was 100% up my alley and much better than I expected. I’m in love.
August 19, 2025
This year, I keep being drawn to books that are like layered puzzles-ones that disorient me just enough to make me question what's real, what's expected, and who were supposed to be in the eyes of others.
Books like this make it hard to draw the line and I love that. They hold up a mirror, but the reflection flickers, and you're not quite sure if it's you or the version of you you've been pretending to be.
It's haunting in the quietest ways, and this one fits that. I'll be thinking about it for a long time.
Books like this make it hard to draw the line and I love that. They hold up a mirror, but the reflection flickers, and you're not quite sure if it's you or the version of you you've been pretending to be.
It's haunting in the quietest ways, and this one fits that. I'll be thinking about it for a long time.
August 21, 2024
I love women written Japanese fiction. Reading about lowkey crazy insane women doing crazy insane things or turning into strange people or objects??? Sign me up!
Was looking for more books similar to Sayaka Murata’s after I had read all of her’s available in translation. The afterward was so good also. I was hooked and each story was a really smooth read.
Was looking for more books similar to Sayaka Murata’s after I had read all of her’s available in translation. The afterward was so good also. I was hooked and each story was a really smooth read.
January 29, 2025
I find Imamura's writing so compelling. Her stories are surreal but in a way that feels perfectly reasonable.
My favourite story is the namesake of the collection. I could really feel Asa's joy at finally being able to perform in a caregiving role.
I admit the second story is quite dark and I wonder if it alluded to suicide, but it wasn't clear cut. It was a very sad story overall.
The final in the trilogy felt it rounded things off nicely - these three stories are about women trying to find their way and place in modern society.
My favourite story is the namesake of the collection. I could really feel Asa's joy at finally being able to perform in a caregiving role.
I admit the second story is quite dark and I wonder if it alluded to suicide, but it wasn't clear cut. It was a very sad story overall.
The final in the trilogy felt it rounded things off nicely - these three stories are about women trying to find their way and place in modern society.
August 8, 2024
each story was so weird and special in its own way. the second one was the most heartbreaking & personal favourite but i would love to re-read them all.
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