Asa

These three short stories, originally published in 2020 and translated by Lucy North, begin with premises that have a fairy-tale simplicity. One character cannot be hit. Another cannot give anyone anything--their gifts are never accepted. And another decides that "being bipedal was simply not worth the trouble." Imamura's spare style works well with these situations, and she is able create scenes that will make you laugh and others that draw out the pathos from the absurd. Clearly, these stories are asking us to consider how the unusual and often impossible events that occur are related to contemporary life, but these are not allegories or simple social satire. One them throughout, though, is how personally shattering other's expectations, and failing to meet them, can be.