Last year I reviewed three Red Circle Minis which are original Japanese short stories and they introduced me to new authors. I felt these books were a great way to break free from the familiar Murakami-novel moulds to explore more fiction set in Japan. I was pleased to read yet another work of Kanji Hanawa and also be introduced to Takuji Ichikawa through these new books set in Japan.
The Refugees’ Daughter by Takuji Ichikawa; translated from the Japanese by Emily Balistrieri
Aimi and her family travel across a land as refugees. She hopes to be reunited to her love, Yusuke. Builders—maybe saviours or rebels or ancient beings or gods—have created another world, a world behind a gate and it is this world that Aimi and her family are seeking. Their present life is made miserable by The Complex, a synonym for capitalist institutions.
On one hand The Refugees’ Daughter feels like a dystopian narrative, but looking around the current world, one wonders if such days aren’t that far away. The story follows the familiar narrative of a journey into an alternate world—a safe space— because the present one is too dangerous, as seen in Josh Malerman’s Bird Box. I was also reminded of The Book of M by Peng Shepherd (read review) set in a world where people lose their memories and shadows. There is a similar gated ‘another world’ where people hope they would be safe and embark on a difficulty filled journey to reach the destination.
However, The Refugees’ Daughter is too short for the scope it wishes to captures. It has a dream like quality yet exists in a terrifying world. It has a tone of disquiet building up in an alarming world, but not the length to let the story steep deeper into your soul. There are memories and fragments that pop up and disappear—I was reminded of The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa which also explores the effect of memories and erasure on people.
My only qualm with the book is that it ended too soon, so abruptly. I loved it—the translation was seamless and beautiful—but I felt thirsty for more. Takuji Ichikawa is working on a full length version of this story and I am eager to see how it would shape up. Nevertheless, this short book makes us ponder who will lead the society—the strong or the weak?
Rating : 3.5/5
The Refugees' Daughter is a story of a journey from a world ravaged by capitalism into a safe, gated space. It pits the strong against the weak to save the world. Disquieting, and feels like a reality not far away Click To Tweet
The Chronicles of Lord Asunaro by Kanji Hanawa; translated from the Japanese by Meredith McKinney
The Chronicles of Lord Asunaro follows the young lord’s life from his school days to being a lord. Asunaro was born in a time of peace. There was nothing he needed to be worried about; wealth was in abundance and there were no wars. He grew up as a rude, lazy boy who did not care about studies. However as he grew older, he directed his energy towards poetry and women. He is said to have fathered seventy (or more) children in total. The story is fascinating but too brief to get acquainted with the lord. This makes it a difficult book to review. While Asunaro is a real person, ample freedom of fictionalization has been exercised in this mini biography, as Hanawa himself points out. Blending history and fiction and dusted it with a nuanced translation, this book promises to be a good read about the life of a spoilt Japanese lord who lived a stress free life.
Rating : 3/5
Two new Red Circle Minis that explore original stories from/set in Japan. One about a spoilt Japanese Lord who loves women and poetry; the other about a dystopian reality @TeamRedCircle Click To Tweet
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Disclaimer : Much thanks to Red Circle Minis for the books. All opinions are my own.
They’re both excellent, I think, and their very difference shows the diversity of modern Japanese writing. So much packed into such small volumes! 😀
True. I’ve loved discovering new authors thanks to these collections
I have been really enjoying the books the Red Circle Minis publish. Definitely helped me in getting acquainted with many new Japanese authors that I had not heard of