“Abe’s superpower is to transform everything he touches into exciting literature.” – Kotaru Isaka, author of Bullet Train

This surreal, twisty novel presents a provocative portrayal of sibling competition and the exploitation of social outcasts.

Shiori knows at heart that she’s a troubadour. She may be completely tone-deaf, but she won’t let that stop her living a life dedicated to music. Even when her dominant older sister, Nozomi, forces Shiori to accept that her wild singing provokes only revulsion, she decides to forge a career as a lyricist instead.

At eighteen, she moves to Tokyo to pursue her dream. Isolated and struggling in this unfamiliar city, Shiori seeks connection online, where her trusting outlook leaves her vulnerable to exploitation – with potentially explosive results.

This page-turning literary fiction from a Japanese star is perfect for fans of the wild worlds and unforgettable creations of Mieko Kawakami and Sayaka Murata.

Perfect for fans of Earthlings by Sayaka Murata and Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs

Isolated in his Tokyo apartment, 17-year-old Haruo spends all his time online, researching the plight of the endangered Japanese crested ibis, Nipponia Nippon.

Living on an allowance from his parents, he drops ever further into a fantasy world in which he alone shares a special connection with the last of these noble birds, held at a conservation centre on the island of Sado.

His conclusion is simple: it is his destiny to free the birds from a society that does not appreciate them, by whatever means necessary. With his emotional state becoming ever more erratic, he begins sourcing weapons and preparing for a reckoning in this darkly ironic study of toxic masculinity.