hardcover, 247 pages
Published Oct. 5, 2020 by Grove Press.
Natsuki isn't like the other girls. She has a wand and a transformation mirror. She might be a witch, or an alien from another planet. Together with her cousin Yuu, Natsuki spends her summers in the wild mountains of Nagano, dreaming of other worlds. When a terrible sequence of events threatens to part the two children forever, they make a promise: survive, no matter what.
Now Natsuki is grown. She lives a quiet life with her asexual husband, surviving as best she can by pretending to be normal. But the demands of Natsuki's family are increasing, her friends wonder why she's still not pregnant, and dark shadows from Natsuki's childhood are pursuing her. Fleeing the suburbs for the mountains of her childhood, Natsuki prepares herself with a reunion with Yuu. Will he still remember their promise? And will he help her keep it?
Natsuki isn't like the other girls. She has a wand and a transformation mirror. She might be a witch, or an alien from another planet. Together with her cousin Yuu, Natsuki spends her summers in the wild mountains of Nagano, dreaming of other worlds. When a terrible sequence of events threatens to part the two children forever, they make a promise: survive, no matter what.
Now Natsuki is grown. She lives a quiet life with her asexual husband, surviving as best she can by pretending to be normal. But the demands of Natsuki's family are increasing, her friends wonder why she's still not pregnant, and dark shadows from Natsuki's childhood are pursuing her. Fleeing the suburbs for the mountains of her childhood, Natsuki prepares herself with a reunion with Yuu. Will he still remember their promise? And will he help her keep it?
En oikein osaa sanoa oliko tämä liian absurdi, vai samaan aikaan ei ihan tarpeeksi absurdi. Ei tarpeeksi absurdi siinä mielessä, että kirja ikäänkuin liian myöhään nosti lukijan pois kaiken normaaliuden tuomasta tulkinnasta. Ihan tykkäsinkin, mutta toisaalta aika varovaisesti lähtisin suosittelemaan kenellekään.
Content warning cw: child abuse (incl. sexual), incest, murder, cannibalism
OK. Weirdest thing I've read in a long time. Not really sure how/why I finished it, especially as the first third-or-so, in which Natsuki is eleven, is a distinctly uncomfortable read. The CWs I've listed aren't even all the topics I'd probably mention, but I've forgotten some and others... I'm not even sure how I'd describe them. When you strip out all of the dialled-up-to-eleven weirdness, what you're left with is a novel that might have interesting things to say about how people (particularly Japanese women) deal with societal norms, expectations, and pressure, and about how the construction of a fantasy world can make sense as a way of dealing with childhood trauma. For me, though, it all felt a bit too heavy-handed -- the constant invocation of 'the Factory' felt a bit much after a while. Note: I haven't given a star rating because I just don't know how to rate it.
Amongst the awful verbal and emotional abuse from a parent and sibiling, sexual assault from a teacher, and depictions of incest and child sex within the first third of the book, I couldn't make myself keep reading. After reading Convenience Store Woman, I don't anticipate that the circumstances are going to get any better for the protagonist...
Amongst the awful verbal and emotional abuse from a parent and sibiling, sexual assault from a teacher, and depictions of incest and child sex within the first third of the book, I couldn't make myself keep reading. After reading Convenience Store Woman, I don't anticipate that the circumstances are going to get any better for the protagonist...
