8 japanese authors in a spine of parallel text with 8 endearing stories told and explored through the theme of lifestyle, cultural, selfhood and human relations. I only familiar and have read books by 4 of the authors and was quite enthralled to delve into the other 4 authors as a new reader to their writings.

Personally loved Mogera Wogura (Hiromi Kawakami) the most for its surreal premise of a mole like creature who leisurely living among the humans, working in a day job yet becoming a human kidnapper at night— so quirky on its bizarre alienation perspective, of the mysteries of one’s existence and addictive much on the storytelling part. Both Where The Bowling Pins Stand (Shinji Ishii) and Love Suicide At Kamaara (Sueko Yoshida) were written with a suicidal related narrative. Loved Ishii’s emotional tone— a self-reflection on life and death following a perspective of a taxi driver who accidentally transporting an elderly woman to her destination where she later takes her own life. Yoshida’s story having a gripping postwar backdrop and revolved on a narrative of an old prostitute; of love and one’s survival, expected from the title yet I was still startled at the end.

Fairly enjoyed the others as much; a dreamy on solitude, love and one’s sincerity in Concerning The Sound Of A Train Whistle In The Night (Haruki Murakami), that quietude setting with lingering grief plot in A Little Darkness (Banana Yoshimoto), both Genjitsu House ((Masayo Koike) and The Silent Traders (Yūko Tsushima) for its motherhood and single parenting premise (I liked Tsushima’s tone in exploring her character’s emotional longing and alienation struggles) as well the peculiar and unsettling plot for The Maiden In The Manger (Kazushige Abe)— fun with nothing explicit despite having a character with otaku obsession on a rare adult toy.

Such an appeling collection overall and totally liked the neat parallel structure— might go and get the other parallel text in the series soon!

4.3/5*