The Fallen Trees Are Also the Forest is a collection comprising 12 short stories. The stories are poignant, written in a precise and poetic style, with short sentences and strong visuals. They vary in length but tend to be on the shorter side.

The stories are simple and tender, exploring the bonds between fathers and daughters, childhood friends, siblings, and many other characters. Sorrow and melancholy are present but conveyed in a comforting manner. The result is a gentle, delicate collection, underpinned by the author’s Japanese-Argentinian roots.

My favorite stories were Perfect Breakfast, The Remains of the Secret, The Boots, and Out in the Darkness. I can see myself returning to this book to reread them.

Originally published in 2015 in her native Spanish, this is the first book by Japanese Argentine author, Alejandra Kamiya, to be published in English. It comprises twelve brief short stories, several just a few pages in length but they're to be savoured rather than gobbled up.
Kamiya explores themes of loss, family, heritage and motherhood in understated, often poetic prose. Characters experience sometimes devastating epiphanies, pulling the reader up short. Several stories explore Kamiya’s own heritage, tinged with a quiet regret for not asking about her father’s life in his native Japan. The longest piece, The Pit, which sees a lone Japanese soldier continuing to execute a specific order, not knowing the war has ended, was only the story that didn’t quite work for me. A small criticism of what is otherwise a superb collection, beautifully translated by Daniel Hahn. I’m hoping Pushkin Press will consider publishing more of Kamiya’s backlist in English.