Mysterious Setting by Kazushige Abe is a novel about a tone-deaf girl, her family, and her friends. It's a story about social outcasts and about depression. It also included a rather strange mystery involving a suitcase. I found the story to be very sad most of the time, but occasionally it was also profound. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Perhaps it was something lost in translation but I had a hard time following this. I liked the idea but struggled to understand what was going on at times.

Finished this in a day! I definitely didn't expect to be hooked so deeply or to end up enjoying it so much. It's odd and quirky, but also strangely on point and filled with astute observations.

Shiori has no direct dialogue but yet her voice and personality outshine everyone else's. Some of her experiences are painfully relatable and I wanted to rage on her behalf.

I got so into Shiori's story that I forgot all about the two introductions and what the book was about. I also really liked Nozomi and her bluntness + brutal honesty despite her wicked tongue.

Neither did I see the end coming but!!! Excellent read.

A book that I had no idea what I was going into. A book that felt like a wild ride. I book that ended up making me tear up. Good read, but not for everyone!

Well, I don't really know what to say about "Mysterious Setting", because it is a book with a very unlikable main character (well, everyone is horrible), a person who is pushed around and taken advantage of the whole novel but whose inner world doesn't help to understand or 'justify' their behavior (there is no evolution, no progress, Shiori just stays the same always) and because there seems to be no point to the story, just two-hundred-odd pages of people appearing and disappearing while taking the main character's time, money, dreams and innocence (and yes, the ending doesn't 'explain' to the reader all that came before). It is just... a read you endure, not a read you enjoy. As it is, I cannot recommend it (maybe in its original Japanese, the message comes differently, as languages influence how we understand a story, but as an English translation..., not good enough).

A compelling exploration of resilience and the pursuit of passion in the face of adversity. Shiori's determination to carve out her identity in the competitive music industry, despite her struggles and the challenges imposed by her sister, makes for a relatable and inspiring journey. The novel delves into the complexities of self-discovery, vulnerability, and the sometimes harsh realities of seeking connection in a bustling city like Tokyo. Readers who appreciate character-driven narratives with emotional depth will find themselves captivated by Shiori's story, as it highlights the universal quest for belonging and the courage it takes to follow one's dreams, no matter the odds.

I loved this story. It was well written, intriguing, and fun. You never know what is about to happen, as is often the case in the Japanese fiction I've read, and I love the mystery.

Published in Japan in 2006; published in translation by Pushkin Press on July 2, 2024

Kazushige Abe’s 2006 novel tells the story of a teenage girl who finds meaning in her brief life that she was denied when she realized she would never be a troubadour. Shiori had her heart set on being a troubadour ever since she looked up the word and decided that it described the life she wanted to live. It turned out to be a poor choice for a girl who is tone deaf and afraid to compose lyrics that don’t capture her true emotions as fully as the sounds that her audiences interpret as screeches. Maybe she's a young Yoko Ono.

The narrator learns Shiori’s story from an old man in a park. The narrator returns repeatedly until the old man brings the story to a resolution.

Shiori was tormented by her older sister’s brutal honesty. Her sister recognized that Shiori’s first boyfriend was only with her because she paid for his CDs when they went shopping.

Shiori shopped for cat food at a pet store. She became captivated by the parakeets. The birds seemed to be upset by her singing, although Shiori thought they were encouraging her. Shiori blames herself when things do not go well for Japanese birds.

Shiori makes no friends at music school (she refuses to sing or to compose lyrics) so she begins to correspond with random pen pals. One is a Peruvian drummer who invites her to hear his band. The other band members quickly realize that they can take advantage of Shiori’s generous and gullible nature. The Peruvian takes the story in a different direction when he entrusts Shiori with a suitcase nuke — or maybe it’s just a suitcase.

Shiori is a lonely teen who has no talent for making friends. Even her family abandons her. But Shiori is true to herself. While the inclinations to which she is true might be unwise, Shiori will win hearts for standing her ground.

Mysterious Setting is odd and unpredictable, qualities that make the story a pleasure to read. Shiori is initially incapable of recognizing her faults and then is unable to stop blaming herself for them. There’s some of that in most of us, although Shiori’s tendency to take those qualities to an extreme generates the story’s dark humor.

The end of the old man’s story tests the boundaries of plausibility, but this isn’t a story the reader is meant to believe. Absurd situations fuel its humor while the dark ending makes Shiori even more likable.

RECOMMENDED

Kazushige Abe's Mysterious Setting is a story within a story. The main narrative is a story that an old man tells a group of ten year olds in a park so many times that one of them remembers it enough to recount it here. It is unclear why this story - the story of Shiori a girl who is tone deaf but wants to sing despite the fact her singing is terrible.
Mysterious Setting continues a trend of recent Japanese books which feature put upon protagoinists. Shiori is manipulated by her boyfroend and systematically abused by her younger sister (whoi claims she is only doing it for her own good). In fact Shiori invites punishment and implements punishment from her sister.. Again as with many Japanese books it is not that the subtelties are lost in the translation (which was fine), they seem tio be lost in the cultural differences between writer and reader. All of which made for a tough read.

Thank you Pushkin Press for my free ARC of Mysterious Setting by Kazushige Abe — available now!

Read this if you:
😇 ever were taken advantage of by someone else
🧩 enjoy stories that don't follow a traditional plot arc
🧳 can handle characters that drive you absolutely nuts with their decisions

Translated from Japanese by Michael Emmerich 🇯🇵

Shiori moves to Tokyo to pursue her dream of working in the music industry, despite everyone around her giving negative feedback on her voice as well as her dreams. But she's bound to get into trouble if she keeps trusting everyone she meets at face value...

This is a pretty wild ride, and it was mostly an infuriating one. I personally didn't care for Shiori's character (good lord girl, get it together!) and this made it difficult for me to get into her story. The action takes a hard right turn in the last third or so of the book, and this was jarring for me and my experience. Overall, it's a relatively short read that explores some unique themes, so it's worth your time if it sounds like it might be up your alley! Just be advised that it's a weird one 😂

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A story within a story. A book that is wild and crazy but unexpectedly sad. I'm going into this book blindly without minding much about the plot, and now that I've finished it, it feels like a fever dream.

Mysterious Settings is a tale told by the old man in the park toward our unnamed main character. It's an imaginative, engaging story about a girl who dreams of being a troubadour and loves to sing, but she's deaf tone. Her life is tragic and filled with struggles, mostly because of the people around her. Her parents want her to act more like an older sister; her younger sister is obsessed with making her cry and keeps bullying Shiori. It's not an easy read at all. Bullying happens, and there's also bad discrimination just because Shiori's unable to socialize with her classmates. Taking advantage of the weak and being naive will make her an easy target for manipulators. Shiori is lonely, naïve, and easily taken advantage of, which happens several times throughout the book. It is sad to see how she clearly struggles with social isolation and gets her hopes up when she thinks she has made new friends only to be betrayed again.

I love Abe's writing style; it contains a dark humor in capturing Shiori's situation, and I love how he gives a unique voice to his main character. While it's frustrating to see Shiori's naivety in some parts of the book, I feel like it's far more amazing how she still manages to tolerate others's behavior and think good of them. 

I completely invested in the Shiori story for at least 50% of the book, but the second to final part contains a mystery element, and the bomb was quite detached from the 'original story'. Well, surely, it's interesting how fast the plot escalated, but I'm not sure I can say I like it. The ending is super emotional and heartbreaking.

Overall, its an entertaining and bizarre read! Thank you Netgalley for ebook ARC.

this was so deeply upsetting and silly at the same time ? I loved this little book .
Thank you for the eArc .

A really engaging, quick read telling the story of a naive Japanese girl who experiences endless setbacks & heartbreaks during her life. It's told from the perspective of a boy who was told the story by a man in a local park & it's all tied together nicely at the end. I found the story easy to follow & the characters were constructed well, however the protagonist was frustrating in how naive she was & for me it made the book less enjoyable.

Hmm. I'm sure I missed several points Abe made with this tale of Shiori, a tone deaf girl whose voice could kill and her sister Nozomi. Thanks to netgalley for the AR.C. While it wasn't for me fans of literary fiction and contemporary Japanese novels might enjoy it.

I've read a few Japanese books recently, each one really different, but enjoyable in their own way. This one was no exception, but I'm really struggling to describe it or why I liked it - maybe that's part of its attraction as its so genre defying and genuinely odd!
I can only recommend people read it for themselves!
Congratulations to the translator who made complex ideas easily readable in English
Thank you to netgalley and Pushkin Press for an advance copy of this book

One of those too-rare books that manages to be absolutely absurd and deeply moving at the same time. I loved it entirely and will be recommending it unequivocally to my reader-friends.

Abe continues in his fixation on birds and this time, too, he starts a book as if he were Sayaka Murata-with all the disturbing images possible and chilling-and finishes it as if he were Haruki Murakami, complete with atomic bombs and subway dungeons. A perfect mix of what, it would seem, dominates the contemporary Japanese imagination. I can't say I liked it, but I still had to finish reading it.

Abe continua nella sua fissazione sugli uccelli e anche stavolta inizia un libro come se fosse Sayaka Murata - con tutte le immagini disturbanti possibili e agghiaccianti - e lo finisce come se fosse Haruki Murakami, con tanto di bombe atomiche e sotterranei della metropolitana. Un mix perfetto di quanto, sembrerebbe, domina nell'immaginario giapponese contemporaneo. Non posso dire che mi sia piaciuto, ma ho dovuto comunque finire di leggerlo.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I'm afraid I truly struggled with this book. I simply didn't understand what it was trying to say. The story starts with some kids going to a park and listening to an old storyteller. The storyteller tells the tale of Shiori, who is extremely gullible. She is bullied by almost everyone she comes into contact with including her younger sister, her first boyfriend and fellow students. Her life is one long joyless struggle and the one thing she loves to do - sing - is the thing that she truly fails at because she is tone deaf.

Shiori believes herself to be a bad person who causes all kinds if catastrophes and that she needs to spend her life atoning for these imagined "sins" so when an opportunity comes to redeem herself she takes it.

It sounds simple enough but the plot is so incredibly bizarre that I'm still not clear on what I read. All the characters in it are extremely unlikeable and Shiori is difficult to like simply because she's so easy to fool over and over again - she never seems to learn despite being warned by her bullying sister.

I'm afraid I found it hard to like anything about this book and I do normally enjoy the strange qualities that seem unique to Japanese literary fiction.

Just not for me.

“Mysterious Setting” is a novel by Kazushige Abe, a pre-eminent contemporary writer from Japan1. The book is translated by Michael Emmerich1. Here’s a brief summary:

The novel is a madcap, darkly comic story about the strange fate of a tone-deaf girl named Shiori who just wants to sing12. Despite being completely tone-deaf, Shiori is determined to live a life dedicated to music12. When her dominant older sister, Nozomi, forces Shiori to accept that her wild singing provokes only revulsion, she decides to forge a career as a lyricist instead12. At eighteen, she moves to Tokyo to pursue her dream12. Isolated and struggling in this unfamiliar city, Shiori seeks connection online, where her trusting outlook leaves her vulnerable to exploitation – with potentially explosive results12.

This page-turning literary fiction from a Japanese star is perfect for fans of the wild worlds and unforgettable creations of Mieko Kawakami and Sayaka Murata

I haven't read Kazushige Abe before, and now I am definitely going to look forward to his books. This was a strange book, but I really liked it.
The way Abe builds the story and the ideas that he has executed with this book is amazing!!