Mieko Kawakami is a genius. -- Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times

Fuyuko Irie is a freelance proofreader in her thirties. Living alone and unable to form meaningful relationships, she has little contact with anyone other than her colleagues. But a chance encounter with a man named Mitsutsuka awakens something new in her. As Fuyuko starts to see the world in a different light, painful memories from her past begin to resurface. Fuyuko needs to be loved, to be heard and to be seen. But living in a small world of her own making, will she find the strength to bring down the walls that surround her? Pulsing and poetic, modern and shocking, this is an unforgettable novel from Japan’s most exciting writer.