A review by kritikanarula
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa

3.5

It’s a 3.5 star read for me.

All the positive points of the book relate to the themes really close to my heart. A life with disability gets changed in many little ways we haven’t talked about yet. So for the book to explore that was an exciting, endearing prospect. But at this length (barely 100 pages) it felt that the plot was just getting executed without ever having been set up. The first thirty pages or so were on track to achieve that - humanising the protagonist and other characters, but the shift towards the trigger in the Second Scene was too abrupt and harsh.

I loved the twists and turns of the protagonist’s mind as well as the turning points within the plot. (The end felt very fitting!) I can see how the themes played well and the book was long-listed for the International Booker Prize.

The story withholds certain details and yet goes overboard with some others (some conversations felt too crass to be real, for instance, and some descriptions too explicit)

But I am learning the inclination that Japanese literature has for simple, straightforward sentences over prose is not my cup of tea.

Hunchback was extremely powerful in parts of- when they take jabs on the privilege in accessing superior care, the publishing industry’s duplicity, and the vanity of readers…all of those are points I would have loved to see explored in detail.