Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami
The latest novel from acclaimed writer Mieko Kawakami opens with a jolt as narrator Hana discovers that her old friend Kimiko has been charged with abduction. This central mystery pulls readers back to the late-1990s in Tokyo, where teenage Hana and the older Kimiko decide to open a bar called Lemon, driven by the belief that “yellow attracts money.” The journey quickly turns chaotic, plunging Hana into the world of organized crime. “The world is crazy. I feel like I’m living in a manga,” she remarks. Kawakami’s style favors exploration over explanation, with characters appearing and disappearing, buildings burning, and cancer diagnoses arriving almost at random. Yet the relentless pace ensures there is never a dull moment. A standout scene features Hana’s unreliable mother asking to borrow 2 million yen for an investment in lingerie she claims will “help your spine and organs move back to where they’re supposed to be.” It is a story that balances absurdity and horror with masterful effect.
All Flesh by Ananda Devi
“Forgive me for starting this story with bodily, unpalatable origins.” This opening line sets the tone for an intensely physical narrative. Set in an unnamed European country, a schoolgirl “born with no urge but to consume” grows relentlessly larger. “My gut, my ass, my thighs – they were all set on reaching the farthest corners of the world,” she confesses. She attributes her gluttony to the need to silence the voice of her dead twin sister, who was “absorbed into my tissues” in the womb. Hated at school, she endures mockery that amplifies her own self-disgust. In a darkly comic scene, she becomes stuck in her bedroom doorframe like “an uncooperative cork.” Then she falls in love with the lonely carpenter who arrives to widen the door—but further twists await. The novel’s powerful voice portrays the torment of a girl described as “the psychical mirror of our time … immoderation made manifest.”
The White Desert by Luis López Carrasco
This unpredictable book consists of five interconnected stories about a Spanish couple, beginning with the end of the world and growing stranger from there. A balloon debate about a post-apocalyptic scenario turns violent when one participant pulls a knife—or thinks he does. A plane crash-lands on an island, prompting a question: “Can [we] go and get our luggage … Lots of people have, you know, soiled themselves.” The common thread is a sense of disconnection in an otherwise connected world. The book continually subverts expectations: when a group celebrating New Year’s Eve goes missing, it turns out to be a game of hide and seek. Footnotes suggest the narrative is being viewed from the future (“Emirates was a well-known passenger airline …”). Discovering what the white desert is becomes a turning point that redefines everything. For readers who enjoy connecting the dots and want a playful, original take on modern precariousness, this is a thought-provoking treat.
The Home of the Drowned by Elin Anna Labba
“You could have waited, you bastards.” In 1942 Lapland, a village occupied by the semi-nomadic Sámi people is flooded by a new hydroelectric plant’s dam. A family watches as their goahti (peat-covered hut) disappears beneath the water. “It wasn’t the nicest goahti,” says Ánne. “No, but it was mine,” replies her sister Rávdná. When Rávdná seeks permission to build a replacement house, authorities refuse: the Sámi way of life has been rejected, yet no alternatives are allowed. A local newspaper halfheartedly offers to publicize their case but warns, “we receive a lot of angry letters if we use any foreign words.” When the government tells local people the new dam “will lift us out of poverty and injustice,” the irony is unmistakable. Based on real events in Sweden, this intimate story captures the anguish of systemic discrimination with precise, affecting prose.
