A uniquely quirky intelligent dystopian novel where the apocalyptic occurrence is a huge earth quake which alters the way that time flows in patches of the world
I loved the concept and it’s link with ancient Japanese fairytales of a giant catfish rolling under the earth
The book has a strong Japanese feel to it but is immediately accessible to Uk audiences as well .The author has a beautifully flowing writing style which I enjoyed a lot with great chapter sizes
The characters of the father and daughter are well developed and there are a number of other smaller well described characters
The concept of time moving at different speeds was entertaining and the sections set in out of standard time areas were described in cinematic detail .I can’t help thinking that this would make a great film or tv series
I loved the book art which is truly beautiful
I read an early copy of the book on NetGalley Uk the book is published in Uk by Head of Zeus publishing 2 March 2023

**Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance copy of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review**

We all know that Japan is vulnerable to earthquakes but in this story the latest earthquake hasn't just damaged the country's infrastructure, it's damaged time itself. There are zones that now run faster (or slower) than normal and many people have simply disappeared.

The zones are too dangerous to visit but Sora and her father are fascinated by the science behind these time shifts and are desperate to find out what has happened to her mother and grandparents who all disappeared during the quake.

Learning quickly that Sora has a sensitivity to the zones, and can detect them in a way that no one else can, they are drawn into trying to solve the mystery and maybe even reset the time shifts..

A beautiful book from front cover to last page. I particularly enjoyed the references to Japanese culture and traditions. I must read more books set outside the UK / US.

A giant catfish under Japan; earthquakes and time quakes; love and friendship; and self discovery. I absolute loved this

From its action-packed beginning and the terror of the Shake when the earth moves and the mythical catfish rolls, we are plunged into a fractured landscape of a post-apocalyptic Japan. Sora has lost her Japanese mother who is feared dead and she is determined to find her in the devastation of the forbidden time zones. But she is lost too. The first person narrative is full of grief, both Sora's and her Canadian scientist dad's. He is obsessed with his independent research into the time zones and she doesn't know if she has the strength to hold him as his behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and disturbing.

Sora is the bridge between her parents' two worlds: that of Vancouver and Japan, but she doesn't feel as if she belongs in either. Kumagai explores the reality of the mixed identity experience through language and social attitudes. According to Sora, in Japanese one is neither direct or sarcastic; in English one is less nuanced - 'even my body changes.'. Through Sora, Kumagai expresses the Japanese views on 'hafu', revealing how she is called a foreigner in Japan, but finds an empathic closeness to Maya, who is mixed black-Japanese. At one point in the story, Sora hides her face with a mask in order to pass for a Japanese girl; when she argues with her boyfriend, Koki, and he tells her she's not like them as she can go back to her real home, she replies: 'I am Japanese... and it's my home. Maybe it's not real but I don't have anywhere else to go.' Though her dad speaks fluent Japanese and works in Japan, he shares her sense of 'otherness' and their relationship is touching. I enjoyed the humorous dialogue and pitch-perfect exchanges with Koki and her dad: 'Everything is strange here,' Dad says, in an almost-whisper. 'We fit right in.' Also, when Koki leaves for Tokyo University, Sora's dad meets her on her level as they joke about ways to kill him. They are united in their ritualistic preparation of food and Kumagai's love of Japanese culture is at its most evocative in her descriptions of eating pickles and tofu, fish and rice. Sora's memories of her mother's love of nature and they way she spoke to her are sensitively written too: 'soak in the sunshine' and 'reach tall, reach deep, grow strong,' giving the narrative a fable-like feel. Additionally, the setting descriptions of the natural environment are richly detailed.

The book has a strong sense of philosophical enquiry around the themes of time and memory, with fantasy elements which are liminal, just visible at the corner of the eye: 'There are places so deep in the zones that nobody dares go there now. Some did, at first; self-defence forces or search and rescue parties, but they didn't return.' The sense of desolation in the book reminded me of Patrick Ness's, 'More Than This' and through the references to the ghostly shadows of those who have disappeared, Kumagai draws parallels between the traumatic events of Japan's history, in particular the aftermath of Hiroshima, though she is keen to avoid a direct correlation. However, I would have enjoyed a more in-depth exploration of the mythological, animistic landscape of the Kinimuna spirits - red-haired demon children who live in the banyan trees - and felt that a less subtle approach to plot might have diverted from the repetitive story structure, as Sora moves in and out of the zones.

Overall, the theme of renunciation and rebirth is clear. Kumagai writes in an economical style but conveys emotion deftly. A scene between Sora and Koki is particularly touching, as is the final scene in the forest where Sora learns that to live, she must let her mother go.

What would you do if you were left behind when an earthquake broke time?

I absolutely loved this book.

It was a gorgeous mix of Japanese mythology, magic, science and philosophy. But it was also a coming-of-age story where you follow Sora learn more about her relationships with family and friends, all the while dealing with loss and the feeling of being different.

Along with gorgeous imagery, there were deep heart-wrenching discussions which balanced funny sarcastic dialogue.

P.S. we also get a nice sprinkling of LGBT rep and it made my heart warm and fuzzy.

Firmly in its genre of YA fantasy (rather magical realism) I would definitely recommend to everyone.

Trigger warnings - death, bereavement, illness, discrimination (especially mixed-race).

This is a magical realism book set in a world where there are different zones for time, in some zones time moves quicker and in some slower. These zones came into being after a large earthquake.
The main character – Sora – can navigate through these different zones. She’s looking for her mother who was lost during this earthquake.

It is a book about emotions, searching for an end but I wasn’t very engaged reading it.

CW: Loss of a loved one, mixed-race discrimination

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is certainly one of those books where if the first couple sentences of the description interest you, just get the book and don't read the rest of the description.

Japan is known for earthquakes, but in this book they go a step further. One particular earthquake was so strong it managed to shatter time. Japan gets split up into different "time zones", some are slow, some are fast and they're all different speeds. No one in the regular speed time zones quite knows what happened to those who where within what came to be the different speed zones.

It's a slow-burner book, but written in such a way where it doesn't feel slow. There is however a lot of time theory, philosophical talks and all that jazz all throughout the book, but it's all relatively easy to understand and, at least to me, was quite interesting. I quite liked all the characters as well, they all had good motivations.

I think the only improvement I'd make is give the conflicts during the final part more time. A lot happens all at once and with all the time shifting it's hard to get a good grasp on the feeling for the ending. I would also just love a lot more time with all the revelations and such personally, but I also just absolutely love the world and the character dynamics (especially with Sora and a certain someone at the end :3) and would love to see more from it all and understand it all better.

Catfish Rolling was a book with a fascinating and original premise, and I enjoyed the combination of science and Japanese myth. Sora was a well-presented character; however, some of the other characters in the story didn't feel as well fleshed out. The prose was easy reading, but the story posed a number of questions and scenarios to do with the fast and slow zones that were never fully answered by the end, which I found a little disappointing after so much build up. Even so, this remained an interesting and enjoyable read and offered something a bit different in terms of plot, so I am still giving it 4 stars. Recommended to those who like YA fantasy with an original twist.

I didn't know what I expected from this book before going into it, but what I got, I loved. It was well written with an incredibly poignant and thought provoking storyline and well developed characters.
It is an effortless and visceral look on love, time, pain, grief and loss. I loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Catfish Rolling is a story about one of the most impossible concepts that we have to face - the concept of time. Defining time, understanding time, and measuring it seems easy in the current day, though the rules for doing these things have been set by people long before us and, really, their theories and beliefs are all we have to rely on. When used as a literary device, 'time' can be a super interesting plot point, and it worked really well here.

We follow Sora, the main character who is half Japanese and half Canadian, who feels incredibly inbetween; even more so when the catfish rolls beneath the great country of Japan, causing an earthquake that sends a rift through the entire country. Time is broken in the Japan of this world; worse in some places, like the quiet village north of Tokyo where Sora lives with her father. In the aftermath, people are lost - vanished, it seems, until we learn that there seem to be different time zones all around the country. Some slow, some fast, some somewhere inbetween. All of them in close vicinity, and each of them having strange effects on those who enter.

Whilst her father researches the time zones, Sora sneaks into them illegally; she shows tourists around the time zones (for a fee), and conducts her own research, always searching for the mother she lost when the catfish rolled. But all that time in the zones have begun to have a bad effect on her father, whose health appears to be deteriorating rapidly with no real conclusion as to why.

The concept is interesting and the book is really well written. Some of the characters are well developed, whereas others felt more two dimensional to me. I liked the idea, and whilst I wouldn't necessarily say that the execution fell flat for me - I did enjoy reading this, after all - I felt like there was a little too much repetition, as well as a lot of information being thrown at the reader. It was difficult at times to keep up, and to understand what had actually happened/what was happening within these time zones. So a confusing read, sometimes, but it had real heart, and I loved the focus on Japanese fables and mythology, and it was really interesting learning about the culture from someone biracial, like Sora.

Though the ending ties up some loose ends, there are no real answers for a lot of questions posed, which might be annoying to some readers! I don't think all questions need answers, but I admit to wanting to understand a little more with regards to this one. At its heart, however, the novel deals with themes of grief, loss, coming of age, and self-realisation; and I think these themes in particular were dealt with very well.

A strong 3.75 (still waiting for the day I can use half stars on Goodreads and other websites...)

A spectacular read from start to finish. I couldn't have loved this more, from how it portrays grief and loss, experiences of being mixed race, to different kinds of love. Sora is a wonderfully written character and I especially adored her relationships with her father, Koki and Maya.