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jamieleepilk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
"I couldn't become the Mona Lisa. I was after all, a hunchback monster." Page 85.
Wow. This was nothing like what I expected.
This short novel follows Shaka a disabled woman who lives online, studying, she tweets into the void and writes eroctic fiction.
While this novel is only just over 100 pages it manages to pack in a deep and cutting look at disability, bodily autonomy, the privilege of money and health and sex. It didn't pull any punches with sexual descriptions or the grossness of sex, it was extremely blunt and in parts funny. Part of me wishes it was longer.
That ending took me by surprise and took a turn I did not see coming (lol).
I'm so intrigued what Saou Ichikawa does next.
Fabulous translation by Polly Barton too.
Wow. This was nothing like what I expected.
This short novel follows Shaka a disabled woman who lives online, studying, she tweets into the void and writes eroctic fiction.
While this novel is only just over 100 pages it manages to pack in a deep and cutting look at disability, bodily autonomy, the privilege of money and health and sex. It didn't pull any punches with sexual descriptions or the grossness of sex, it was extremely blunt and in parts funny. Part of me wishes it was longer.
That ending took me by surprise and took a turn I did not see coming (lol).
I'm so intrigued what Saou Ichikawa does next.
Fabulous translation by Polly Barton too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Sexual content
bisexualbookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book will be released in the US on March 18th, 2025 by Hogarth Press.
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa is a poignant and darkly humorous exploration of disability, autonomy, and the complexities of living in a body that doesn’t conform to “normal” standards. Through the eyes of the narrator, Shaka, the story unfolds in the confines of a group home she owns after inheriting it from her deceased parents. Shaka suffers from myotubular myopathy, a degenerative muscle disorder that leaves her physically and socially isolated, relying on a ventilator to breathe and mobility aids to navigate her life. This novella is an unflinching portrayal of Shaka’s frustration with a world that continuously infantilizes her, expecting nothing from her because of her disability and gender.
Ichikawa’s writing is a blend of biting wit and deep emotional insight. The humor is self-deprecating, often sharp and cynical as Shaka observes the absurdity of her existence. The prose is introspective, never shying away from the raw truths of Shaka’s situation. She yearns for experiences that so many others take for granted—like the simple act of reading a book without pain—yet struggles against the physical limitations her body imposes. Her longing for normalcy evolves into an obsession with reproductive autonomy, particularly the choice to experience an abortion. This fixation serves as a lens through which the book delves into the intersections of disability and reproductive justice, forcing us to confront the often-overlooked realities of disabled people’s rights over their own bodies.
At its heart, Hunchback is a meditation on identity and autonomy. Shaka’s internal battle is one of dignity—how to maintain it in a world that expects you to be less than human, a body that isn’t meant to be sexual, capable, or independent. The narrative questions what it means to truly have a choice when the world has already decided that your body is incapable of making its own decisions. Through Shaka’s voice, Ichikawa gives us a character who is defiant and vulnerable in equal measure, desperate to reclaim agency over a life that constantly denies her that power. It's a powerful, necessary book, one that demands we reconsider how we view disability and autonomy in a society that often relegates the disabled to the margins.
📖 Recommended For: Fans of introspective literary fiction, disability justice narratives, and darkly humorous, character-driven stories; readers interested in the intersections of gender, disability, and reproductive justice; those who appreciate sharp, self-aware protagonists and biting commentary on social norms.
🔑 Key Themes: Autonomy and Agency, Disability and Isolation, Reproductive Justice, Gender and Disability, Identity and Dignity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Abortion, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ljthelibrarian's review
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I finished Hunchback in one sitting partly due to the novella length and partly out of curiosity to see what would happen next.
I was initially drawn to this book because it differs from the type of narratives we usually see around disability, exploring the main character Shaka's internal world, her day-to-day, and the life she lives online. This book is for readers of literary fiction who like complex main characters, and books that make them slightly uncomfortable.
The observations regarding accessibility particularly resonated with me. As a librarian people often ask me if I think that physical books will disappear and be replaced by eBooks, and they make grand statements about how it just doesn't get better than a physical book. Usually they expect me to agree with them, so I am constantly gently (and not so gently) reminding people that as a librarian I advocate for accessibility of information. This means I support books being made available in as many forms as possible - including audiobooks, eBooks, Large Print books etc. Because of Shaka's muscle disorder and curvature of the spine reading physical books is dangerous due to the weight. At one point Shaka references a disability advocate speaking on TV:
I was initially drawn to this book because it differs from the type of narratives we usually see around disability, exploring the main character Shaka's internal world, her day-to-day, and the life she lives online. This book is for readers of literary fiction who like complex main characters, and books that make them slightly uncomfortable.
The observations regarding accessibility particularly resonated with me. As a librarian people often ask me if I think that physical books will disappear and be replaced by eBooks, and they make grand statements about how it just doesn't get better than a physical book. Usually they expect me to agree with them, so I am constantly gently (and not so gently) reminding people that as a librarian I advocate for accessibility of information. This means I support books being made available in as many forms as possible - including audiobooks, eBooks, Large Print books etc. Because of Shaka's muscle disorder and curvature of the spine reading physical books is dangerous due to the weight. At one point Shaka references a disability advocate speaking on TV:
"On air, she had spoken eloquently about the difficulties she had with physical books, which she couldn't read unless she had a carer there to turn the pages for her...all those able-bodied people didn't know how good they had it. They could make erudite-sounding pronouncements about how they just liked the smell of books, or the feel of the paper, or the sense of tension that came from the thickness of the remaining pages reducing beneath their fingers, and others would listen unquestioningly to what they were saying."
I wish this book had been a novel. While it was engaging there were many angles and characters touched on that I would have liked to have seen fleshed out and fully explored. While the middle part of the book was engaging, I found the beginning and the ending quite jarring, especially as I didn't see the ending coming. I like the interpretation that the ending is a piece of the protagonist's fiction. This theory makes sense to me as that is how the novella starts, and also the piece is in keeping with the style of Shaka's other writing.
Saou Ichikawa is the first physically disabled author to win the Akutagawa Prize - one of Japan's top literary awards. Hunchback is her debut and I would be interested to read more from her in the future.
Thanks to Penguin for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy
ellslibraries's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Medical content, and Abortion
purplemuskogee's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I had been told it would be very graphic, and it is in its minute descriptions of disability and in the erotica that the narrator writes and publishes online.
The female narrator is a 40-something woman, who is disabled due to a degenerative condition, uses a ventilator and a suction catheter to drain mucus from her windpipe, can speak but rarely does so after a tracheostomy when she was 14, and relies on text to communicate with her carers. She is fabulously wealthy ("a woman whose money has distanced her from friction") and owns the care home in which she lives. She earns addtional income she donates to good causes through writing, mostly erotic stories.
It's very short but very detailed which I rarely see in books, especially with a disabled heroine. She thinks about her body a lot, because she has to, and resents not being able to comfortably read, not having a sexual life, and not being able to experience what other women experience. She dreams of "getting pregnant and having an abortion, like a normal woman". She resents the ableism of Japan; incredibly she mentions France and the US as being more progressive in that regard.
It's a good book, although it is so short that the plot takes very little space. A lot of space is given to the experience of being disabled - I understand this is based on the author's own lived experience - as we follow her through meals, getting up, trying to be comfortable, receiving care. I found it really easy to get interested in, uncomfortable but engrossing.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
The female narrator is a 40-something woman, who is disabled due to a degenerative condition, uses a ventilator and a suction catheter to drain mucus from her windpipe, can speak but rarely does so after a tracheostomy when she was 14, and relies on text to communicate with her carers. She is fabulously wealthy ("a woman whose money has distanced her from friction") and owns the care home in which she lives. She earns addtional income she donates to good causes through writing, mostly erotic stories.
It's very short but very detailed which I rarely see in books, especially with a disabled heroine. She thinks about her body a lot, because she has to, and resents not being able to comfortably read, not having a sexual life, and not being able to experience what other women experience. She dreams of "getting pregnant and having an abortion, like a normal woman". She resents the ableism of Japan; incredibly she mentions France and the US as being more progressive in that regard.
It's a good book, although it is so short that the plot takes very little space. A lot of space is given to the experience of being disabled - I understand this is based on the author's own lived experience - as we follow her through meals, getting up, trying to be comfortable, receiving care. I found it really easy to get interested in, uncomfortable but engrossing.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Sexual content, and Medical content