Three distinctly quirky and unsettling stories from Natsuko Imamura that will delight and intrigue. In the title story, Asa is a troubled child who remains puzzled as to why no-one ever accepts any food that she offers them. Ever. As she grows into a teenager, and ends up in a correctional facility , one day her life changes for ever. The feeling of being an outsider continues in the second story about Nami, a girl who literally never gets hit when people throw things at her. The final story involves Happy, a girl who is so lazy she doesn't walk but just crawls everywhere.

These are stories about outsiders, about not fitting in, and with an Afterword from Sayaka Murata you kind of get what territory we are exploring here.

Strange and beguiling, this is exactly the kind of Japanese literature that appeals to so many, opening up new worlds and unique perspectives on the world. A must-read for fans of the unusual, beautifully translated by Lucy North

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

Three very strange but strangely engaging Japanese short stories - the title story involves a girl who becomes a pair of chopsticks, in another the main character suffers because she cannot be struck. These feel a little like Twilight Zone episodes with a Japanese sensibility - short and twisted.

I really enjoyed The Woman in The Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura and so was very much looking forward to more of her original and quirky vibes. While Asa has this in spades it just didn't hit the same high notes for me.

This is a collection of three short stories. The first story left me reeling. The second ended up deeply upsetting me and while it was a difficult read it will stay with me. I don't have a lot to say about the third, it wasn't for me. An unsettling an uncomfortable read. I am not sure if I would recommend this one and yet I am glad I read it or at least glad I read the first two.

A collection of three short stories, loosely connected by surrealist overtones, as well as a sense of disassociation from contemporary life. The first story is about Asa, a girl who struggles to have anyone eat her food, and eventually turns into a pair of chopsticks (yes - ironic) feeding a lone young man. Nami seems to have a supernatural power that helps her avoid being hit by anything thrown at her, but ends up unbalanced due to her growing sense of isolation. As she grows up, this self-imposed sense of isolation corrodes and erodes her life, forcing her into a deep sense of loneliness. Happy lives her life as if she were a cat, and has an adventure (as that cat) that leaves her yearning back to it as her life gets to look increasingly normal - with a husband, a job, and a child.

I didn't dislike reading the stories - the tension between the surreal and almost hilarious surface, on the one hand, and the deep nihilistic reality, on the other, was pronounced and engulfing. That being said, there were far from groundbreaking. They were amusing and somewhat thought provoking, but also, in some ways, kitsch, and too post-modern in style to really enjoy.

I recommend to folks who love surrealist stories, and want to learn more about the loneliness that seems to be so pervasive in Japanese literature, but from a different angle (compared to e.g., Banana Yoshimoto).

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is a collection of 3 short stories, the first short story collection by Natsuko Imamura. I have read This is Amiko, Do You Copy? which I enjoyed, and have The Woman in the Purple Skirt still on my tbr list.
The first short story is the title story, and is less than 45 pages but what the f*** did I read? It was so strange and creepy, and the ending truly shocked me. But that didn’t prepare me for the second story whatsoever. This was the longest story and most emotionally impactful, and truly left me heartbroken. There are a lot of triggering themes, including abuse, suicide and self-harm, and it was very tough to read. However I appreciated the story and haven’t stopped thinking about it since finishing it. The third and final story was just strange and I didn’t take much from it.
There is an afterword by Sayaka Murata which was well put together too. I’m glad I’ve read this collection and will continue to read from this author and more translated fiction of the same genre.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Faber and Faber Ltd. and Natsuko Imamura for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.

Review posted to Goodreads and to be posted to Instagram, along with Amazon and Waterstones on publication date.

Strange, surreal and oddly vivid stories. Some interesting perspective on the world around us that we may not always feel in tune with. Fans of sayaka murata will enjoy.

I loved these short stories, they were definitely unlike anything I have read before which made them so much more exciting to read.

Asa: The Girl Who Turned into a Pair of Chopsticks is by Natsuko Imamura, and was translated by Lucy North. It is a collection of the short stories that are out of the ordinary, and a little bit surreal. The stories feel like they could be read, and then unlike anything that could be real at the same time. Each story is a provocation into life outside what we perceive to be ordinary, and how personal oddities or idiosyncrasies can make you question your life and impact on the world. They are also a commentary on what we see as to opposed to what we know and understand of the world. There is something other-wordly about the experiences of each character: Asa, Nami, and “Happy-chan”. Their reality and their thoughts about life are often indistinct, which makes them all the more real.
The afterword by Sayaka Murata references Imamura’s writing as being embedded with “a magical power that takes the reader out of their comfort zone connects them with an uncharted world that they were actually familiar with all along”. I think this captured each of these stories so well. It is almost as if we’re comfortable with the strangeness or baroness of their women’ lives in each story, and that they make as much sense as the normal mundane moments of life a we know it. Maybe it’s also a message not to take the things that seem so ordinary for granted?

I love a collection of short stories that manage to create feelings in the reader in such a short amount of words. These stories are bizzare, abnormal and also slightly unsettling. Despite these qualities they are very relatable and set within the realms of what could be someone’s reality. I loved the women’s perspective that’s explored. I honestly would recommend this book to anyone and I think it would be a great book club choice. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

The three short stories in this book will not be to everyone's taste but if you note that Sayaka Murata has written an afterword you'll already have some inkling that you are heading down strange and wonderful avenues. G
Frankly I loved them all but Nani, Who Wanted To Get Hit (and eventually did) spoke more strongly.

I would say it is purely personal taste because the stories, despite being linked by their oddness, are very different in nature. They all delve into the otherness of our world and the thin veil between what is considered normal and abnormal. It is this aspect of each story that appeals to me. What is life about and where are each of us going.

Asa becomes chopsticks because she has no hope as a human but as a useful tool she becomes invaluable; Nani finds herself unable to join in because of her uniqueness but as the story develops she understands herself more and more; and in A Night To Remember I took the fleeting possibilities that life hands us and the nature of impermanence.

I loved this book and would recommend it highly.

Thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.

Having enjoyed the woman in the purple skirt, I decided to give these short stories a try. The afterword notes that these 3 stories were all previously published in Japanese magazine but have been collected together for this collection.
- Although surreal by the end, I enjoyed reading the Asa story - it spent long enough in reality before the swerve for me to go along with it
- Nana ended up dragging and I really skimmed the last part of it. Note to self: trying to sketch out someone’s entire life in a short story is unlikely to work.
- Happy just felt a bit off and I didn’t pick up why she decided to crawl/drag herself while lying down. This story essentially starts in the surreal before returning to normality which might be why it didn’t work for me.

Pleased to have read these but probably won’t re-read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The title story here delivered.
After that though, the second story followed the same sort of formula as the title story but was too long and too repetitive so I lost interest in what it was trying to say.
Third story was alright.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

3 stars!

I was hoping to give this short collection a higher rating as I really enjoyed the 1st story and even the second story and the many ways it can be taken and how things such as mental health and self-harm was portrayed. However, it did drag on for me. I felt that the story could have been much shorter to have a stronger impact as some part seemed unnecessary. The 3rd story was also good but by the time I had finished the 2nd, despite actually liking it but felt if it was shorter I would have enjoyed the collection more.

However, I am do excited to read more from Natsuko Imamura as I already have more work added to my TBR!

Fascinating yet a little strange! I was very intrigued at where the stories were going! Not my usual read but a good one non the less.

I did really enjoy the first and last story but the middle one just felt a little long and lost me a little towards the end.
They are thought provoking stories and they make you feel uncomfortable and that is the point.
I was perhaps just expecting something a little more 'surreal'.

Asa: The Girl Who Turned Into a Pair of Chopsticks is a collection of three short stories, translated from Japanese, which explore outsiders, transformation, and desire for something different. In the first titular story, Asa is a girl who just wants to offer people food, but they will never eat it. In the second story, Nami is strangely impervious to things hitting her, and that leads her to yearn for that contact. And in the final story, the protagonist is a woman who refuses to do anything other than lying down, but when she ventures outside, she finds a strange kindred spirit.

I was drawn to this book by the author and the promised surreal nature of the stories, even though I don't always opt to read short story collections. I like how these are extended stories, with only three in the fairly short collection, and how they start in one place and then the narratives go in quite different directions. The first story, the one from the title, was perhaps my favourite, as the way it explores our desire to support and help other people and our expectations to do so, with a distinctive twist in the turning into a pair of chopsticks. The ending was nicely dark, but also sweet.

The second story is the longest, and perhaps lost me a bit by the end as it feels a bit rambling, like a long summary of a novel rather than a short story. It takes a more serious look at mental health and abuse, whilst keeping the surreal tone and concept. In contrast, the third story was almost over too soon, but I liked how it contrasted what is apparently a normal life and weirder ways of living.

All three stories ask what happens when you live outside the norm, whether through choice or strange quirks of your existence in the world, and that makes this a collection that is likely to resonate with a lot of people.

This collection includes three stories that take a lense into isolation and survival. It creates a new way of looking at the world around you when going through hardships and trying to understand how to move forward. Each story gives an intriguing version of life through the eyes of the main characters. At times these stories border-lined on weird fiction but were quite an experience to read. There is an afterward by Sayaka Murata where the explanation of why this were written the way they are is given perfectly.

In these three short pieces Natsuko Imamura reflects on women’s alienation and the possibility of transformation. As Sayaka Murata notes, in her afterword, this is fiction which dissolves the boundaries between reality and fantasy. The first features Asa a girl who’s desperate to nurture everyone around her but is continually snubbed, even the goldfish at school refuses to eat when it’s her turn to feed him. In a process that lies somewhere between mythical metamorphosis and religious reincarnation, Asa becomes a tree and later disposable chopsticks which enables her to finally fulfil her desire. Simply told, Imamura’s account of Asa’s experiences - including the symbolism of chopsticks in Japanese culture – seems to deliberately echo aspects of Shintoism and animism, beliefs in which inanimate objects possess the potential to house spirits. All of which gives this a fable-like quality. But Imamura’s treatment of her material, her choice of settings and characters combine to form a disturbing commentary on contemporary society: partly focused on gender and self-sacrifice, partly broader issues around waste, disposability and needless consumption.

The next entry also revolves around an isolated girl desperate to satisfy her desires. Imamura’s narrative’s an oblique, moving examination of impoverished women, trauma, mental health and exclusion from mainstream society. Imamura introduces Nami, following her from child to adult. Nami has a strange ability whatever’s thrown at her she’s never hit. This attribute enrages her schoolmates and teachers who notice that when they play games like dodgeball, she’s always the last one standing. Singled out as peculiar, Nami begins to hit herself, self-harm which results in commitment to a psychiatric unit. But here she’s exposed to different, unexpected forms of violence and exploitation which end up blighting her entire life.

The final piece links to earlier themes around submission and women whose lives are skewed by destructive external forces. It’s narrated by a woman who seems to have slotted into her role as housewife, worker and mother with relative ease but she’s secretly haunted by events from her youth. Unable to fall in line with social and cultural expectations, she ran away to live like a cat, on all fours, scavenging for food. She met a boy who’d also become a cat, forming a tentative bond that was brutally ruptured. Although it’s evident that even as a cat the woman failed to evade a more submissive role. Imamura’s writing’s inventive and fluid, I found these stories gripping and tantalisingly complex, but her overall perspective on women’s prospects appears bleak. Although the women in her fiction each triumph in some sense, their achievements come at, what seemed, an exceptionally high price. Translated by Lucy North. Afterword translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.

Asa: The Girl Who Turned Into a Pair of Chopsticks was a strange trilogy of stories in some ways: strange but fascinating. They were certainly thought-provoking pieces, even if they pushed the boundaries of believability beyond those of general magical realism. As such, I feel they will likely divide readers into love-hate positions, as if the fantasy elements don't appeal or work for a reader, they could simply view the stories as silly and miss the underlying messages and themes. Based on this book, I would be keen to read more from this author in the future. I am giving it four stars.