A review by anharchive
The Forest Brims Over by Maru Ayase, 彩瀬まる

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Rui lives a stable life, as a housewife and muse of many of her husband’s most celebrated books. But something prompts her to swallow a bowl of seeds. Her slow germination into a forest is narrated by a panoply of voices, all echoing struggles of autonomy in patriarchy’s tangles. Sensuous, corporeal and lusciously lyrical, Ayase’s debut is in tandem with the tradition of feminist magical realism, expounding on the body, marriage, authorship, and love within a patriarchal system.