A sharply observed slice of urban alienation

Imagine if Friends had ended with the revelation that Chandler was a psychopath – and that Joey, Monica, Ross, Phoebe and Rachel weren't bothered by it. Yoshida locates horror less in violence than in the kind of atomisation that would permit it

Unsettling, prosaic, effortlessly profound… Yoshida creates a Tokyo both mundane and chilling, a metropolis not of neon and punk but of small rooms in which people who live with each other may as well just be passengers on a subway train, marking time until a stop that never comes

Startling... It is a fascinating story of how five people can co-exist, written in each character's own words... The unexpected, if almost inevitable conclusion brings things to a brilliant end

A brilliant book

An authentic exploration of everyday life in contemporary Japan

The pioneering work in a genre you'd have to call psychedelic Noir ...Who writes sentences as beautiful as Pynchon?

Pynchon leaves the rest of the American literary establishment at the starting gate...the range over which he moves is extraordinary, not simply in terms of ideas explored but also in the range of emotions he takes you through

The most important and mysterious writer of his generation

A warm and joyous read. There is softness about this book, but also a tinge of melancholy

[Vann is] such a fine craftsman.

Strange and sad and desperately readable

A kind of modern fairy tale, one laced with treachery and trials and the greatest demon of all to battle, the past ... Vann’s novels are striking, uncompromising portraits of American life; here is another exceptional example.

By pulling no punches in this explicit exploration of family, forgiveness, duty, acceptance, parent-child relationships, and what constitutes abuse, Vann has outdone himself.

A 12-year-old’s fragile world, mesmerizing innocence, and emerging adolescence are the heart of this alluring novel … Her fresh voice rings true … Since electrifying the literary world five years ago with his debut novel, Legend of a Suicide, Vann has racked up an astonishing number of international awards. This lovely, wrenching novel should add to that list.

Genuinely thought-provoking.

Vann’s deceptively simple style conceals the story’s raw emotional power.