This was such a fun, weird book - if you picked this one up looking for something like Sayaka Murata to scratch that itch in your brain, I think you'd enjoy it! I admit I didn't realize this was a book not a GN when I had requested it, but I had a very good time reading the book regardless. It's a metaphor given a life, but it's done so by committing to the bit, and that's where its strength is.

What I most liked about this book was the ambiguity I alluded to above. I loved trying to decode the meaning in the various bizarre events. It is a strange story and one filled with comedy, yet it constantly makes the reader question societal norms and points to problems that need to be addressed. The book starts as a shallow, almost silly story in which goofy things happen but by the end it becomes much heavier and more psychologically and philosophically loaded. For these reasons, I think it will prove to be a very successful book and will probably get an even better reception than Diary of a Void.

I adored Diary of a Void so I was excited to find out that another of Yagi’s works would be getting an english translation. When the Museum Is Closed was a book I quickly became addicted to. I loved Rika and their growing closeness to Venus.I loved the way this was written and how the translation didn’t seem to loose any of the messaging and heart of the novel.


It is paced well and while it is a quick read I found myself still thinking about it long after I had finished. I particularly liked how the exploration of rather prevalent concerns and emotions were dealt with in such a way you got thinking without really realising it was making you do it.