Trinity, Trinity, Trinity
A Novel
by Erika Kobayashi
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Jun 28 2022 | Archive Date Jun 21 2022
Astra Publishing House | Astra House
Talking about this book? Use #TrinityTrinityTrinity #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
A literary thriller about the effects of nuclear power on the mind, body, and recorded history of three generations of Japanese women.
Nine years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, Japan is preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. An unnamed narrator wakes up in a cold, sterile room, unable to recall her past. Across the country, the elderly begin to hear voices emanating from black stones, compelling them to behave in strange and unpredictable ways. The voices are a symptom of a disease called “Trinity.”
As details about the disease come to light, we encounter a thread of linked histories—Prometheus stealing fire from the gods, the discovery of radiation, the nuclear arms race, the subsequent birth of nuclear energy, and the disaster in Fukushima. The thread linking these events begins to unravel in the lead-up to a terrorist attack at the Japan National Olympic Stadium.
A work of speculative fiction reckoning with the consequences of the past and continued effects of nuclear power, Trinity, Trinity, Trinity follows the lives of three generations of women as they grapple with the legacy of mankind's quest for light and power.
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781662601156 |
PRICE | $23.00 (USD) |
PAGES | 240 |
Featured Reviews
Trinity, Trinity, Trinity by writer and artist Erika Kobayashi might be the most interesting Japanese novel I've read in the last couple of years. A short book full of fascinating moments, metaphors, ideas, the history of radiation, Fukushima and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Would recommend to everyone who's interested in contemporary Japanese literature and exciting new literary voices.
This is a unique story that's uniquely told! It takes place in Tokyo where there is a disease called trinity going around, that affects the elderly. As our narrator wakes up in her grandmother's body, we piece together links between trinity and radiation, nuclear weapons, and the Fukushima disaster. This one will stay with me for a long time.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ebook of Erika Kobayashi’s TRINITY, TRINITY, TRINITY 🤗 This piece of speculative fiction, translated by Brian Bergstrom, comes out on June 28.
“This is the beginning of the revenge of the invisible.”
So reads the social media posts of several people infected with Trinity, a mysterious disease that targets the elderly and compels them to behave in bizarre ways. Trinities find and hoard radioactive material, spout mantras about the history of radiation, and even throw 235 million yen of bills out to the public—which was the same amount of money the Japanese government approved to develop nuclear capabilities after the war. We follow an unnamed narrator in the eerie progression of the disease, which ultimately culminates in a terrorist attack at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In TRINITY, the Japanese public is forced to contend with their ongoing nuclear legacy, after traumatic events such as Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and Fukushima Daiichi, despite a want to believe that it’s far away in the past: Trinity is a way for the invisible to be made visible. Even as the public stigmatizes the elderly, a parallel to a forgetting of history and the grim reality of continued effects of radiation, it celebrates the beginning of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (a timely choice of date given the Japanese public’s opposition to the holding of the Games during the pandemic).
As someone who thinks a lot about the generational legacy of disability wrought from environmental violence, TRINITY’s use of blood, birth, sex, and female eggs reminded me of how these legacies are continued through lineages, passed down so that those most impacted don’t have any choice but to remember through their bodies and minds. There is so much more to unpack from this book that I have no space here to get into—so if you’re into speculative fiction focused on Japanese history and modern society, this is probably the book for you!
Quite an interesting and layered account of the impacts of radiation on the collective conscious. I will say the narrative can be choppy at times, though whether this is intentional or not is unclear; however, ultimately it does not take away from the sense of foreboding that accumulates near the climax of this novel. Interspersed through the narrative are historical references to the discovery and utilization of nuclear energy, which I found both informative and interesting in how they played a role in the narrative's progression. There's a lot to unpack, and I find myself continuing to think about the different aspects of this book. It is certainly a multifaceted critique of Japan's relationship with nuclear technology, but also a critique of motherhood, aging, and societal paranoia. Overall enjoyable read that gives the reader plenty to ruminate on.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a really quick, but really unique read. The story brings together the history and legacy of nuclear power with three generations of women in a small family during the beginning of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Old people in Japan have begun to pick up black radioactive rocks and listening to voices that compel them to commit acts of terror, generally related to exposing others to high levels of radioactivity. Kobayashi focuses on one family, beginning with an unnamed narrator who wakes up in a sterile room with no memory of how they got there. As the story goes on, we are bounced between narrators within the family as buried memories and connections are unveiled. The writing captures a propulsive sense of dread that keeps you turning the pages.
I really enjoyed how Kobayashi pushes different dynamics together in this novel. She creates a layer of mysticism around nuclear power while also speaking to the practical dangers it poses—both as a producer of power and a weapon for mass destruction. And within all of this, there is a strong focus on family, generational memory, and femininity. This is a novel that may be an easy read, but one that will leave you puzzling over it for awhile.
Extremely thankful to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a wonderful reading experience. Erika Kobayashi has written a modern and unique speculative fiction that will definitely blow everyone´s mind. A couple days ago I wrote a review about how hard it is to actually nail writing a book with an amount of metaphors linked with history and collective trauma. It is SO hard. And Kobayashi did it as masterfully as only she can do! In only 240 pages she managed to reflect and critique on a society that has gone through a lot of traumatic experiences but also has caused so much damage. On top of that, she also showcases a perfect portrait of family dynamics and intergenerational relationships.(Which is very necessary on these times). A perfect book.
A story about radiation poisoning told in a very unique way that may be too weird for some, but really worked for me. Plus, this story was actually very well researched and gave a good insight into the story of the discovery of uranium and the development of the nuclear bomb. I really enjoyed reading the story out of the main characters POV, as she’s trying to come to terms with this new reality and what’s happening to her mother, while simultaneously becoming more and more unhinged herself. I was pleasantly surprised!
Do you know those books that you have to ponder for a while after finishing? The ones that you honestly can't decide if you enjoyed reading or not?
This book is definitely one of those.
Trinity, Trinity, Trinity is set during the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. A new disease has begun popping up leading people to commit various acts of "terrorism". The disease, known as Trinity, is common in elders with dementia and is linked to "accursed" black stones (uranite) that whisper the story of radium to the inflicted.
We observe this from the point of view of an unnamed narrator as she struggles with her to adjust to changes and the state of her life and relationships. It was easy to empathize with her feelings of dissatisfaction with where she was at in life. Her sense of alienation from her young daughter and concern for her aging mother only served to make her seem more human. She wasn't perfect, or even always a good person, but she gave voice to feelings that many of us have likely felt before.
This, combined with beautiful writing and a growing feeling of suspense (was the narrator losing her grip) kept me riveted. Additionally, the history of radium and social commentary woven into the narrative were both interesting and thought-provoking.
So why isn't this book getting 5 stars? That largely has to do with the ending. Some of the revelations made in the final pages left me with a sour taste. They weren't anything that would ruin my overall impression of the story, but I could have very much gone without them.
Additionally, a lot is left open to interpretation. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I will confess to feeling unsatisfied and even a bit confused upon finishing. I had to mull things over for a bit and reread a few sections before I was able to decide how I felt.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this arc.
Trinity, Trinity, Trinity is a trippy, unique, quick read. Set over one day - the opening day of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics - with flashbacks of one family’s history, the story opens with an unnamed narrator waking up in a sterile room, not knowing how she got there. Across the country, elderly people are falling ill with “Trinity,” a new disease that compels them to pick up and listen to strange voices coming from black stones, often telling them the history of radium and nuclear power. Over the course of the day, a woman runs around the city, chasing after her elderly mother and dealing with her own issues.
A testament to the dangers of nuclear power, this book is powerful and thoughtful. I love that Kobayashi focuses on women and intergenerational memory to tell the story. I wasn’t sure what happened at the end at first but I love what I’ve decided happened! Overall my mind is blown and I am glad I picked this up when my brain was in the right place for it.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
Christopher Green
General Fiction (Adult), Multicultural Interest, Novellas & Short Stories