Saou Ichikawa’s Hunchback is a groundbreaking novella that defies convention and challenges societal perceptions, offering a bold and unflinching portrait of desire, identity, and humanity. Written by the first disabled author to win Japan’s most prestigious literary award, this extraordinary work provides a unique and provocative perspective rarely explored in contemporary fiction.

The story follows Shaka Isawa, a middle-aged woman born with a congenital muscle disorder that severely curtails her physical mobility. Living in a care home, Shaka navigates life with an electric wheelchair and a ventilator. Yet, her life is anything but confined. Through her studies, irreverent tweets, and salacious posts on an erotica website, Shaka refuses to be defined solely by her disabilities. Her sharp wit, unfiltered thoughts, and unapologetic exploration of her sexuality reveal a character as complex and multifaceted as any other.

The narrative takes an unexpected turn when a new male carer admits to having read Shaka’s erotic stories. What ensues is an audacious and provocative proposal that forces both characters—and readers—to confront their assumptions about power, autonomy, and the intersection of vulnerability and desire.

Ichikawa’s writing is fearless, diving into the grotesque and the titillating to present Shaka not as a figure of pity but as a fully realised individual capable of difficult, uncomfortable, and deeply human thoughts and actions. By doing so, the author dismantles stereotypes about disability, pushing readers to see beyond the physical and confront their own biases.

The novella’s brevity enhances its impact, packing a powerful emotional punch in a succinct narrative. Ichikawa’s ability to weave complex themes—identity, desire, and societal marginalisation—into an engaging and thought-provoking story is remarkable.

Hunchback is not merely a tale of disability; it is a profound exploration of what it means to exist on the margins of society, and how one can assert their humanity in a world that often looks away. Shaka’s story is both unsettling and liberating, a testament to Ichikawa’s willingness to challenge boundaries and provoke thought.

This is an essential read for those interested in bold, unconventional narratives that illuminate perspectives often left unexplored. With its daring subject matter and deeply human themes, Hunchback secures its place as one of the most significant Japanese novels of the 21st century.

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Hunchback is a provocative novella that is destined to be a conversation starter for all those who read it. Ichikawa completely disarms the reader by beginning with a lurid sex scene that is then revealed to be a story written by Shaka Isawa, the main character and narrator, from her home. Shaka has a congenital muscle disorder and juggles life in her luxury care home with university studies and anonymous erotica.

There are so many questions raised, explored, and turned on their heads over the course of this tiny novella: from class privilege to care, desire to autonomy. Shaka's greatest wish for normality is to become pregnant so that she might be able to choose to abort it - a wish that itself provokes a thousand other issues. The author's humour is deadly irony, and Ichikawa carefully prods several sleeping lions to see what happens when they all stare each other in the eyes.

Ricocheting between interiority and the imagined outside world, or gaze of others outside of Shaka's disabled body, Hunchback will no doubt be outside the comfort zone of many readers. Clever, unrelenting, electrifying, Ichikawa's debut is well-deserving of its literary acclaim and will leave you thinking about it well after finishing.

Hunchback is a debut, following a young disabled woman in Japan. I felt it was intriguing but pigeonholed itself. There was a distance between the words and the reader. I wanted it to go a bit deeper and darker than it managed.

A powerful novella criticising ableist attitudes and showing an honest experience of a middle-aged disabled woman in a care facility, as she writes erotic fiction and tweets about her desires. Hunchback is full of dark humour and visceral descriptions, with a fiery main character who is tired of the stereotypical expectations people have of those with disabilities.

I loved how this interrogated the hateful and harmful attitudes prevalent in society, with our narrator, Shaka, bringing this ableism into question through her candid and often brutal tweets. It’s a short book, but one that makes a real impact, showing an honest experience of life with a congenital muscle disorder, criticising the expectations of sexual desire, and exploring questions around financial power.

There’s a lot to think about and it’s one I’ll definitely be coming back to again!

Thank you to Penguin and Viking Books for the chance to read this early.

*I was gifted an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Hunchback is a short novel which focuses on disability, sexuality and the art of storytelling. Shaka Izawa, our protagonist, has congenital muscle disorder and spine curvature. She lives in a care home, spending most of her day studying and writing. Ichikawa mixes different genres and motives, taking inspiration from common tropes present in Japanese modern literature. I really enjoyed reading Shaka's thoughts and feelings, especially her critiques against our ableist society. Even though the book is quite short, it's very engaging. At times the experience can be uncomfortable (because of the in-depth descriptions of sex scenes), but overall it's a thought-provoking read. Consider checking this out!

Wasn't sure what to expect. Certainly not the twist !
At first I was frowning - it was a totally offputting (to me) start but it was also intriguing in a 'where is this even going' way'; compelling in a 'now I have to know' way; and challenging in a 'this is opening my eyes to a different experience' way' I was drawn in and along even though the weird didn't disappear.
Don't let the beginning put you off. It's only short. Give it a go... it's certainly different.

A bold and honest narrative from a brave writer . She challenges ableism with a vengeance and how! I enjoyed the writing and look forward to more work by the author . Thank you Netgalley

Hunchback is an unflinching, provocative exploration of autonomy, sexuality, and the complexities of living with a disability in Japanese society. Centered on Shaka, a sharp-witted woman with a congenital muscle disorder who resides in a care home, the novel challenges societal norms and perceptions of disability through dark humor, feminist undertones, and raw honesty.

Shaka’s inner world is vibrant, filled with e-learning, provocative writing, and mischief on social media. Her impulsive tweet offering a fortune for a sperm donor sets off a chain of events that upends her life and raises profound questions about autonomy, desire, and identity. The narrative doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths, particularly regarding the isolation and marginalization faced by people with disabilities and their fight for recognition as full individuals with agency and dignity.

The novel also delves into broader themes, including the privilege of accessible literature and the overlooked sexual and reproductive rights of those with disabilities. These topics are handled with nuance and insight, making the book not just a character study but a powerful social commentary.

While the story is thought-provoking and skillfully written, it is not an easy read. The ending is dark and unsettling, reflecting the unsentimental tone of the book. Shaka’s voice is compelling, and I found myself wishing for more of her backstory and her life before the events of the novel and her relationships with family.

Hunchback is a quick yet impactful read that offers a rare glimpse into the intersection of disability, gender, and societal expectations in Japan. It’s an eye-opening and challenging book that will stay with readers long after the final page.

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the arc!

Rated 3.5*

This was a very quick and in some instances uncomfortable read. I found the insight into how disability is seen in another culture eye opening. The book gives an insight into how isolating and alone some people can feel within their disabilities in some cases, and although they have disabilities, they are of sound mind but the people around them do not treat them as much. So they have to resort to keeping their own very aware and intelligent mind creatively fulfilled. The book also touches upon sexual and reproductive rights for people who have muscular disabilities.

This book also challenged the privilege problem we have with accessible literature, a topic I could do with reading more of myself. I found the entire book thought provoking. The last few pages were a dark and clever way to end the book - this is not a book with a happy ending, please read the trigger warnings.

I found myself so drawn in by Shaka, I just wanted to learn more about her, what were her past 40 years like? Were her parents still alive? I would have loved for this book to have been even longer.

This is a difficult book to review. Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa critiques how society has de-sexualized the disabled community, how Japan renders it invisible, and how the literary world has done little to address the subject. Ichikawa's main character, Shaka, shares the same disability as the author, so the vivid descriptions of spinal deformities and dealing with the body's mucus (she can't swallow and has related challenges) are as prominent as the sexual content.

We see Shaka beyond the confines of her disability—she's a student, she writes erotica on blogs (which is actually very common in Japan and other parts of Asia; many novels start as blog series), and she runs a social media page where she shares her dark thoughts and desires. Most notably, she has one overwhelming dream: to get pregnant just so she can have an abortion.

I appreciate the themes and discussions this book brings to the table. However, a certain part left me deeply unsettled—let's just say there's an incel character and a situation that isn't quite sextortion but feels eerily close. It's consensual, technically, but it left me questioning: how consensual can something really be when someone is using your private thoughts and disabilities to exploit you? I'm not sure how to process it.

This might be one of the most thought-provoking Akutagawa Prize winners I've ever read.

Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa is a masterful blend of brevity and intensity. This short narrative was utterly gripping, delivering unexpected twists that caught me off guard. The fast-paced storytelling kept me hooked, and I was left genuinely shocked as I reached the end. A quick yet impactful read that lingers in your mind. Highly recommend.

A quick read that gives insight into life as a person with a muscular atrophy disability, and particularly within Japanese society, where disability is swept under the rug (more so than in some Western countries, anyway). It targets themes of sexual and reproductive rights for the disabled, as well as some thought-provoking questions around the privileges of reading and access to literature.

An interesting read, well-translated, and got its messages across really well. I can't say I particularly enjoyed the reading experience, but some aspects will definitely stay with me.

I didn't really understand this or the point of it, maybe it just wasn't for me! I don't understand the ending either, what was real and what was fiction..... ??

This was a book that I enjoyed reading and found it so interesting but needed to google at the end to just double check I understood it 🙈

I really liked that it was something so different and it brought in a lot of different themes - which I guess is often the case with translated fiction! I really liked that it felt like being in her mind! It also presented us with the mind of someone who had a condition that meant she was perceived differently than others may have. I also really liked that it was a shorter book but would have loved some more!

Ichikawa’s novella tells the story of Shaka Isawa. Born with a congenital muscle disorder and using an electric wheelchair and ventilator, she is financially independent (thanks to her parents’ inheritance) and lives in a group home that she owns. She spends her time studying and writing anonymously: articles, provocative tweets, salacious fantasy scenarios. When one of her carers reveals that he has read it all, a chain of events is set in motion which will have unintended consequences.

Ichikawa shirks sentimentality and clichés, bookending her work with graphic fantasy excerpts. Initially rather shocking, they also serve to make important points about autonomy and control, demonstrating Shaka’s ability to narrate her own fictions.

The text also raises important, and perhaps uncomfortable, questions about reading it in the light of Ichikawa’s own disability. She (I believe) has the same muscle disorder as her protagonist and there is therefore a desire to search for autobiography in the text. This desire suggests that we want to it be either one or the other, derivative or fantastical. We somehow cannot give a disabled author the same kind of credit we would an able-bodied author. Much of the novella is concerned with destroying this need we have for things to be only one thing or another, and fostering a more nuanced view of things, concepts, and people that exist outside of pre-ordained categories.

Shaka’s interface with the world is split starkly between the digital and the bodily. Through her writing and online expression the life of the mind is shown to be vibrant and engaged. However, her physical existence is limited by a constant awareness of the restrictions of her own body. This apparent disjunction begets the driving question of the text - how am I to become perceived of as a person?

Intense and unrepentant, yet darkly humorous at times, Hunchback is an important novella for our times.

A confronting novella narrated by a middle aged disabled woman living in a care facility. I’m not sure I liked it… there’s lots of sex (she writes erotic fiction), details about her day to day life (suctioning the mucus from her tracheostomy tube etc) and her thoughts about things she can’t do. There’s also class, the politics of disability and abortion which made it an interesting read.

I thought the message behind this novella was really special but I didn’t click with the writing style at all

The writing in this novella realy surprised me. I'm used to a certain tone and floweryness when it comes to Japanese literature, however this was quite crass and contained refrences to the culture that I couldn't place. The plot itself follows the day to day life of a disabled woman living in a group home. Shaka studies and writes erotic stories on the internet. I liked the representation of how disability doesn't negate the sexual wants of a person. I wish more had been discussed about the dichotomy, but only 112 pages can only contain so much. This book is also quite graphic at times, that was often jarring and unexpected.

A Japanese novella about Shaka, a forty something woman who is living in a group home for disability people who is owned by her family. Shaka has an abnormality in her spine, which causes her to have a spine with a shape of S which crushes a lung and forces her to depend on a ventilator and electric wheelchair However, she didn't feel incredibly helpless despite her condition.

It is actually semi-autobiographical, which explores her life as a disable woman and her sexual desire, and her lengths to achieve her desires are a bit disturbing.

This novella contains quite a lot of adult content

Yeah, be ready for the confusing ending. I don't mind ambiguous ending, but this one just ended very abruptly, and I felt like What???

Settled on 4 stars. Did I enjoy the book? Still not entirely sure. Am I glad I read the book? Yes, definitely. Reading I found the story has an interesting narrator and I suppose protagonist- a quadriplegic woman suffering from a degenerative congenital condition. You are dropped into her adult life which revolves around sexual escapism writing and blogging, and also her home life circumstances. She has plenty of money, but would give this up for a what she sees as a normal female life. I was forced to consider her perspective about quality of life for those with major disabilities. This point is even more interesting since the author is disabled; is this totally fiction or partly auto-biographical? Or is this question unfair since all authors put part of who they are into every book they write, disabled or not. Thank you to Penguin General Uk - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.