My third read for #januaryinjapan! This was a semi-random purchase in the used book section of my favorite local bookstore. I’d never heard of it, but I was promised an international bestseller, a prize-winner, and a look at underground culture in Japan. How could I resist? . . The reviews for this book on goodreads are deeply divisive, and it’s easy to see why. It’s got explicit sex, a nihilistic depressed narrator, sadomasochism, and body modification. It’s easy for all of that to come off as sensationalistic, especially to readers so far-removed from the culture the book is steeped in — it makes it hard to judge how grounded in reality it is. I didn’t always enjoy this book, in fact I was making some very extreme faces in public while reading some of these scenes, but I was always fascinated. . . Seriously, all the content warnings, but especially for violence, rape, body horror, eating disorders. . . #bookreview #snakesandearrings #hitomikanehara #davidkarashima #translatedfromjapanese #translatedfiction #controversialbooks https://www.instagram.com/p/B7RRTElAAWp/?igshid=zumjwrh5sqq5
