Synopsis: Shiori is a young woman who has always known she wanted to be a troubadour, a musician who sings about the beauty of the world. However there is one problem, Shiori is completely tone-deaf and her singing causes pain to everyone who hears it. When she turns 18 Shiori moves to Tokyo to pursue a degree in songwriting and accidentally falls in with a bad crowd. It is one of these new friends who leaves Shiori a unique gift that could lead to explosive results.

My Thoughts: Mysterious Setting is possibly the most shocking introduction I have had to an author. I am using the word shocking here positively and negatively. The first two-thirds of this book are difficult to read. Not because of the writing, or the excellent translation. Instead, it is difficult because the character of Shiori is consistently abused and taken advantage of on every page. At times I felt guilty for continuing to read about her misfortune and doing nothing to stop it. I wanted to reach through the page and stop the people who hurt Shiori, and try to warn her before she gets into another bad situation. These visceral emotions only speak to the excellent characters that Kazushige Abe has written. At the 65% mark, this book takes an explosive turn that I would have never expected. I won’t talk too much about it, but it turned this into a fantastic story that made Shiori’s pain mean something.

Overall, reading Mysterious Setting was emotionally impactful and exhilarating. I highly recommend this book.

An old man's tale

An old man, alone in a park and combine them with a bunch of kids. Yes, things are bound to go wrong.

Well, first the kids wanted to tease the man and I have to admit, I almost went ballistic reading then. Before they knew it, the old man started telling them a story. It was a story of resilience and determination usually told by in Japanese tales. Shiori was dead set at becoming a troubadour. This timid, too trusting girl had a suspicion that something was wrong in her singing but she was so determined, to a point that she almost wanted to quit school.

But Shiori made a pledge to no longer sing when she was shamed by her ex-boyfriend. The good-for-nothing who was just after her money, made her realise that she was tone-deaf, so tone-deaf that her dominant sister Nozomi convinced her that she caused parakeets in a store to go crazy by her horrendous singing.

Despite this, Shiori left for Tokyo to pursue her dreams. Howevers, her pledge to not sing made things worse. Her determination to not sing made her an outcast and caused her to look for connections online. And this has led to another case of people taking advantage of her money since well, they believed that her family is the rich, rural type of people.

Until a mysterious looking bag was left by one of her online connections. This was followed up by three emails with instructions to now cause damage to the city. It then led to a field becoming so barren that the government left it alone.

Well, allegedly because the only witness to this story was the old man.

I have very strong feelings for Shiori-Nozomi dynamic. Sometimes I think Nozomi was right for being domineering as Shiori was too trusting but sometimes I feel like Nozomi was too much. Ouh yes, and Shiori was too trusting. This actually set the tone for the story. You have no idea how many times I want to scream to Shiori for yearning too much for connection.

The story took me on a lot of turns starting from the park to the old man and of course, conspiracy theory. I like how the story was focused on Shiori and her family background and wealth were just in the background. It was there but it was not glaring and it was pulled out at convenient times.

I was not a big fan of conspiracy theories so this arrangement kind of suited me well. Shiori's yearning for connection, just like those felt by those on Netflix Swindler, made me realise it can never be a good thing. Things will never go well if we try to hard.

If there is one thing I want to highlight, the inflexibility of certain people in a certain culture. The policeman was just one of the examples of how people can be inflexibile. Sure, the bag was not a stolen item or sort but isn't it just good sense for the police to help the citizen check if everything is fine with the bag?

The train conductor was not flexible too but well, people have to work I guess.

I know some stories can get lost in translation but Mysterious Setting was translated just right for Kazushige Abe. I can feel Shiori's timidness, Nozomi's harshness and all through the journey of hiding the bag? I felt all of that.

Not going to lie, I actually want to know more of what Shiori talked with the bag. It felt as if the bag can influence Shiori. I know I would hate that since it will make Shiori's character weaker but well, the heart wants what the heart wants.

Suffice to say, I cannot wait for this book to come out.

A strange Japanese translated fiction by award winning author Kazushige Abe (who is apparently the husband of Mieko Kawakami). Starts off like literary fiction and turns suddenly into suspense.

It’s difficult to describe this story, as it started out quite slow about the life of a bullied and abused girl who struggled to fit in socially. The first half was difficult for me to get through, but when the mysterious suitcase showed up in her life halfway through the book I read the rest of the book straight through. It was a strange plot, but I would recommend it as a quick and weird story for people who like authors like Sayaka Murata.

I started it, but took a long break. I think I appreciated it more coming back to it.

This was a fun read. I appreciated the visual and engaging language. It felt like an A24 movie in the form of a book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This little novel was truly bizarre, wild ride through the main character, Shiori's adolescence. There's her brutally awful sister, her desire to sing but being horribly tone deaf, lack of close friendships, family money problems, and she ends up mixed up with some criminals to devastating effect. You can't help but feel bad for young Shiori who is taken advantage by everyone -- her sister, boyfriend, and even people she thinks are her friends. She ends up in Tokyo for music school and a series of innocent but naïve choices mixes her up in a bad situation. This book was truly a roller coaster, and I haven't read anything like it. I will say, as with other books I've read translated from East Asia countries, there is a level of disconnect I felt with the characters. It's almost as if I'm watching things from a very superficial level -- watching the plot happen to them, but never actually feel like I am in the plot with the characters. I think it's common writing style in the region, and it was more like I was taken along for the ride, but watching from a bird's eye view. Expect a level of disconnect, but that doesn't make it any less of a strange page-turner.

A book can be as abstract as it pleases, but if that deviation from traditional storytelling is not earned through depth of characterisation, detailed worldbuilding or delicate prose, then it does not feel earned. Perhaps it is partly due to the barrier of translation, but Kazushige Abe's Mysterious Setting is a confusing mess, a sparse mixture of unlikeable, or simply undeveloped, characters, and strange events and reminiscences that feel like attempts at something larger, but fall at almost every hurdle. The final quarter of the novel is the most interesting part, but it feels too late at that point to drag things back. A frustrating read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this novel.

Kazushige Abe is an incredible writer and has such a good grasp on the human condition. I loved this book so much, and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

The translation is amazing and the main character has so much depth, I was gripped from start to finish.

Also the cover is absolutely stunning!

This book was like a fever dream and I loved it! Abe is becoming an author to watch and I can't wait to see what they write next.

Fast-paced, surrealist and cruel at times, "Mysterious Setting" was a good start of Kazushige Abe's works for me.

I rooted for Shiori so much along the story. The characters were amazing and the story had the sort of irony I love.

Recommended.

This book is definitely up there as one of my new favourites! I loved the twists and turns and once I started reading it was hard to put down. Shiori doesn't have the best start to life with constantly being put down by the people around her. Still wanting to pursue her dreams she moves to Tokyo with the hope of a new start and to make new friends however her good nature and somewhat naivety leaves her in a similar position. Her positive outlook keeps her continually seeing the good in people which ultimately leaves her in an unexpected situation. Overall, I think Mysterious Setting is a great read and I will certainly be checking out more of Kazushige Abe's work in the future.

The main character of the story in this novel, Shiori, doesn't have an easy life. She is lonely and naïve and easily taken advantage of, which happens several times throughout the book. It's tough reading a character clearly struggling with social isolation get her hopes up when she thinks she has made new friends only to be beaten back again. Towards the end of the novel, there is a Schrodinger's Cat style action plot, and Shiori HAS to take action and make a choice on whether to believe or not to believe and here we finally see her start to take action.

The main bulk of this novel is a story being told by a narrator we meet at the beginning and re-join at the end of him telling Shiori's tale. I didn't feel this "story within a story" element added anything, it felt more like filler to add a few extra pages. Several Japanese novels I have read recently focus on the social isolation of young people and Mysterious Setting is another great portrayal of this.

I have given this book 3 stars because I enjoyed it but didn't feel like it was a stand out and there are other novels on similar themes which I would recommend instead of this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eBook ARC.

The story of a girl called Shiori told by an old man in a park to some mooching kids with little else to do. The majority of the story is about Shiori and her life. She’s got zero self awareness (plans to be a troubadour but is tone deaf, plans to be a lyricist but won’t write lyrics, thinks of herself as a poet yet never writes poetry….), she’s utterly gullible and ripped off left, right and centre and, asides from her sister, no-one is willing to take her to one side and knock some sense into her. She’s such a frustrating character. I trudged through the first two thirds before the arrival of The Suitcase. The final third is readable but Shiori is still her indecisive, clueless self. I assume that all this is build up is to establish Shiori as someone who is pure in heart, and untainted by the selfishness which marks just about every other character, ready for the set-piece ending. At the end, we learn why the old man is so determined to tell Shiori’s story.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the perfect companion to All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami. Which is kinda perfect, because Kazushige Abe is Mieko Kawakami’s husband (and I’m here, supporting my girlie’s partner). Both books follow women who ‘go with the flow,’ either because they lack drive or because they assume things of their surroundings, but in both cases, we see how lacking a voice leads to social alienation. Whereas Kawakami’s felt like a hug… Mysterious Setting is a bizarre, perplexing slap in the face with a chair.

I do want to put an emphasis on the bizarre here. Part of me felt as if Helen Oyeyemi had co-authored it. There were bits that had me doing the Jim from The Office thing and looking at the camera like ‘is this happening?’

Mysterious Setting is narrated by a storyteller who talks about Shiori, a troubadour who is so tone-deaf that when she things, beings die (animals and humans). So this curse and the harsh words of her peculiar sister Nozomi force her to drop her existence as a troubadour to pursue her dream of becoming a lyricist. Her social alienation and social awkwardness make her a target for people trying to take advantage of her. The story turns pretty dark when Shiori is gifted a very interesting suitcase.

Now, I have so many thoughts. This book is perfect for a book club because what the fuck. Shiori is batshit crazy, I don’t even want to talk about her. But Nozomi?? I adored Nozomi (even though she does something disgusting at some point). She was HARSH to Shiori. HARSH. And it was at times hilarious, at times horrifying. But throughout the book, I must say, Nozomi was the only person who cared for Shiori, even if that care was… just strange. There is a point in the book where Shiori starts talking to an object (I repeat: batshit crazy). And the object continues calling her ‘Shiori darling,’ which is what Nozomi calls her. This shows how important Nozomi was to Shiori even after Shiori leaves and goes to Tokyo.

The story was weird. The characters were weird. But the ending was super emotional. And the last 25% of the book really had me hooked, I kept wondering anxiously “is it real or is it fake” (because of something that’s happening). So, do I recommend it? Yeah. I thought it was a trip. So bizarre. But so cool and creative.

I think the concept of Mysterious Setting was included in the book but it made little sense. Yet you, as the reader, if you take a step back - this story is made of many details put together that seem to float to create a story, in a way. So I think it’s a good title for what came of it, but I don’t think it was utilized smartly in the book. (Mysterious Setting or Serti Mysterieux is a type of jewellery-making style in which little gemstones are put together very closely and in a way that they appear to be floating, but there is a little metal in the back keeping them together).

A quirky and fun tale that reads like a captivating movie. The author's vivid descriptions create an engaging ambience that pulled me in from the start. The characters and plot are intriguing, which kept me hooked for the most part. However, the book falls short in delivering profound takeaways, which left me feeling underwhelmed. Overall, while the book's setting sets an alluring stage, its failure to delve into deeper themes may leave readers craving more substance.

Everything I wanted and expected from this book and more was contained inside. Shiori had, overall, a miserable life. But it was never because of her lack of trying for better, or for hoping for the best at all times. Even in the face of everything bad happening to her she remained optimistic, or found the best out of a situation. It was the outside world that couldn't handle her and made her life a misery. Other people taking advantage of her goodness, her naivety. I found this to be so tender, heartbreaking, sometimes funny but overall deeply deeply sad. I loved it.

From what I can tell this isn’t a bad book. The writing flows quite nicely but it is quite slow paced. It just wasn’t holding my interest and I found I wasn’t wanting to pick it back up after putting it down, so I stopped trying to force it.

What a strange little book! Mysterious Setting read a bit like a fever dream and not for a minute did I know what was coming next. Darkly funny at times, and deeply sad the next, Kazushige Abe takes the reader on a surreal and thoroughly enjoyable journey.

I think this book was good. Kazushige Abe is starting to become one of my favorites with the books I've read from them recently. This book was one of my favorite and I can't wait to see more