Hunchback (Akutagawa Prize Winner)

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE JOHN LEONARD PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST BOOK
FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES ART SEIDENBAUM AWARD FOR FIRST FICTION

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD, THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE, THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION, AND THE PRIX MÉDICIS ÉTRANGER

A bombshell bestseller in Japan, a defiant, darkly funny debut novel about a young woman in a care home seeking autonomy and the full possibilities of her life—“not only a major achievement in disability literature but great literature period” (Johanna Hedva)

“A literary phenomenon in Japan, Hunchback is an extraordinary and thrilling debut novel about sex, disability, and power.”—International Booker Prize Judges

“Unforgettable . . . a thriller of the body . . . [a] miracle.”—The New York Times Book Review

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GREAT BRITAIN SASAKAWA FOUNDATION TRANSLATION PRIZE • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, PEN America, WBUR, Kirkus Reviews

Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka spends her days in her room in a care home outside Tokyo, relying on an electric wheelchair to get around and a ventilator to breathe. But if Shaka’s physical life is limited, her quick, mischievous mind has no boundaries: She takes e-learning courses on her iPad, publishes explicit fantasies on websites, and anonymously troll-tweets to see if anyone is paying attention (“In another life, I’d like to work as a high-class prostitute”). One day, she tweets into the void an offer of an enormous sum of money for a sperm donor. To Shaka’s surprise, her new nurse accepts the dare, unleashing a series of events that will forever change Shaka’s sense of herself as a woman in the world.

Hunchback has shaken Japanese literary culture with its skillful depiction of the physical body and its unrepentant humor. Winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, it’s a feminist story about the dignity of an individual who insists on her right to make choices for herself, no matter the consequences. Formally creative and refreshingly unsentimental, Hunchback depicts the joy, anger, and desires of a woman demanding autonomy in a world that doesn’t always grant it to people like her. Full of wit, bite, and heart, this unforgettable novel reminds us all of the full potential of our lives, regardless of the limitations we experience.