Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

This book was interesting enough to hold my attention while I was reading but I didn’t immediately want to keep picking it up!

Overall it was a good read

a very short book on disability and agency. the start surprised me with one of shaka's erotic stories and i thought i was reading the wrong book lol but it was an interesting and sharp read with impactful themes.

I was shocked by this book, undoubtedly. So shocked that I don't believe it was for me? But I know that I would definitely recommend this to people who are looking for disability representation in translated literature. At the end of the day, I can tell that this is written very, very well--if just a bit strange for my tastes.

More an extended short story than a novella, I loved this so much. The vivid descriptions, namely the matter-of-fact biology interspersed with poetic imagery. Should be mandatory reading for this year. Hats off to the translator also.

It loses a star because honestly it was far too short! I was hooked and then saw I was halfway through. A 2 hour read was just not enough for this character and POV. I would read anything from this author.

Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Reading Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa was an intense and thought-provoking experience that challenged my perceptions of disability, desire, and autonomy. I found Shaka’s unapologetic voice both raw and captivating, as she navigates the complexities of her body, her desires, and the world around her. This book left me reflecting on the intersection of vulnerability and power, and how the most unexpected moments can reveal the deepest truths about human nature.

Definitely a book to be read once but don't think I could read it again. One of the most mind blowing books out there and definitely deserves to be shortlisted.

A full review of this book has been left on Goodreads

Hunchback is a short, powerful story about Shaka, a disabled woman who lives in a care home and writes erotic fiction online. When her carer discovers her writing, she makes a surprising proposal that challenges ideas about disability, sexuality, and control.

Written by an author with the same condition as the main character, the book is honest, bold, and sometimes uncomfortable.

Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka Isawa has severe spine curvature and uses an electric wheelchair and ventilator. Within the limits of her care home, her life is lived she studies, she tweets indignantly, she posts outrageous stories on an erotica website. One day, a new male carer reveals he has read it all – the sex, the provocation, the dirt. Her response? An indecent proposal…

Written by the first disabled author to win Japan’s most prestigious literary award and acclaimed instantly as one of the most important Japanese novels of the 21st century, Hunchback is an extraordinary, thrilling glimpse into the desire and darkness of a woman placed at humanity’s edge.

What an absolute load of dribble. Going from ‘poor little me I can’t read a physical book and therefore hate anyone who can’ to disgusting sexual descriptions made for a really bad read. It wasn’t written particularly well and was just so disjointed I didn’t get what was going on. I gave it 1⭐️ because it was short and therefore didn’t take up much of my life!

This book was a strange and unexpected one, and like nothing I have really read before. It was a story about stories, and the realities we construct for ourselves, and particularly in this case, how someone who is disabled and unable to move might dream up scenarios in which they are allowed to full, sexual versions of themselves. The book plays around with this layering of stories, and I found the ending a fun twist on this.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'd heard quite a lot about hunchback and thought it looked an interesting read so wanted to give it a go. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how I felt about it. It was an odd story which seemed unrealistic at best. Bizarre is how I would describe it to friends.
Thanks to Penguin, Saou Ichikawa and NetGalley for the ARC.

'The longer I lived, the more my body collapsed into an ever more aberrant shape. It wasn't collapsing into death. Rather, it collapsed so as to live, collapsed as testament to all the time I'd withstood.'

Winner of the Akutagawa Prize in Japan, this is an unflinchingly honest short novel about Shaka Isawa, born with a congenital muscle disorder and living in a care home. She posts sometimes outrageous social media ('I want to get pregnant, then have an abortion') and rails at society in general. She is well off, so her life is, as far as it can be, comfortable and settled. When she learns that her male carer, Tanaka, has read her posts, she makes a suitably outlandish proposition: she will pay for him to make her pregnant. He seems to agree, but Shaka then develops pneumonia and the deal is never done.

Brutal and direct, this is an absorbing and thought-provoking work. One to make you think, perhaps, rather than one to just sit back and enjoy. I, for example, had never fully appreciated the issue of reading accessibility, where the lack of e-book access could prevent someone unable to hold a physical book from being able to read. It is forceful and provoking, and as such demands to be read and appreciated. 4.5 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

'Hunchback' is a brief but powerful novel that explores disability, bodily autonomy, and ableism with unflinching honesty. The protagonist, Shaka Izawa, shares the author Saou Ichikawa’s experience of living with myotubular myopathy, a severe congenital muscular condition. Like Ichikawa, Shaka uses a wheelchair and a respirator, offering a rare and deeply personal perspective on disability in Japan.

Shaka’s life is shaped by constant medical interventions, yet she finds agency through writing erotic fiction and sharing her thoughts anonymously online. Her journey—both physical and emotional—is compelling, though often unsettling. Ichikawa’s frank portrayal of sex and desire from a disabled perspective is especially vital, challenging societal taboos and expanding the representation of disabled voices in literature.

The novel tackles interesting themes, including the reproductive rights of disabled individuals, sexism, privilege, and accessibility in reading. It is bold, intimate, and at times uncomfortable.

Longlisted for the International Booker Prize. Shaka has a congenital muscle disorder and uses a wheelchair and a ventilator. In her care home she studies and at one point she makes a comment about readers crushing the spines of books - a thing that her body is actually doing to her own spine. She also posts on an erotic website under a pseudonym. When a new carer tells her that he has read her posts, she has an indecent proposal for him. This story is set during the pandemic when contact with the outside was prohibited. There are graphic scenes of Shaka using medical equipment to ease her breathing as well as scenes of a sexual nature. Within the novel, the author, who herself has this same disorder, addresses the stigmas around disability and sexuality. It also looks at power and privilege and power, especially in the relationship between Shaka and her carer. In fact at one point there even seems to be a blurring so that you wonder who is the abused and who is the abuser. As for the ending - I think it is open to interpretation - it is ambiguous. An interesting, short read in which the author is showing us that she is fully human.

Slight in volume but had a powerful message to convey. Shaka has no boundaries apart from her reliance on her wheelchair and all the other equipment that keeps her alive. It was difficult to read as it felt voyeuristic and sometimes quite disturbing, But the unsentimental description of the protagonist's day to day battles to keep herself alive and the unsentimental way she lived her life made me want to know her more, I believe the author Saou Ichikawa revealed just enough to inform the rest is nobody else's business can't wait to read more of her work,

Shaka Isawa lives with myotubular myopathy, a congenital disorder that causes muscle weakness and, in her case, has left her reliant on a tracheostomy to allow her to breathe and other equipment to suction mucus from her lungs when she isn't able to cough it up herself. Her ability to move is also very limited because of her condition, which has caused her spine and legs to twist and distort. She lives in a care home near Tokyo, but her parents have left her more than enough money for the rest of her life. Still, Shaka earns money of her own through writing explicit articles about 'swingers' clubs', as well as erotic fiction aimed at women. On her anonymous Twitter account, she says the things she's not supposed to say: 'In another life, I'd like to work as a high-class prostitute'; 'I want to get pregnant, then have an abortion'. The juxtaposition of sex and disability in Saou Ichikawa's novella Hunchback, translated by Polly Barton and longlisted for the International Booker Prize, is deliberately intended to confront our prejudices about disabled people and sexuality. The central encounter in the novella makes us think about how much power Shaka might hold; while she might be very physically vulnerable, that doesn't mean she has no agency. Here it reminded me a little of Annabel Lyon's thought-provoking Consent. The problem for me was that Hunchback was just too short to properly explore these ideas - it's only just over 100 pages. This promising premise is barely set up before it ends, and it's followed by a rushed final interlude that (depending on how you read it) feel like Shaka has been consigned to the role of victim again. Even if you interpret the ending differently, I just wanted more time with the book. 3.5 stars.

This was even weirder and shorter than I expected it to be. It made me uncomfortable and I respect that.

currently at a loss for words with Hunchback, an extremely humbling and beautiful story. I hate myself for ever complaining about my body, we take our ableness utterly for granted.

Okay so Hunchback wasn’t really what I was expecting and overall, I found it didn’t leave me with much. I thought the main character was an interesting perspective and found reading about how her disability affects parts of her life that able bodied people wouldn’t even consider - reading books, having sex - effective.

I thought the few pages talking about the ableism within the publishing industry was really powerful and felt strong. Along with the ideas about how disabled people perceive their sexuality.

However, the rest of the book fell flat for me. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s one I’ll remember.
Though, I have lots of friends who have read this on publication (post International Booker Longlist) and really enjoyed it so I do think that it can be really effective for the right person.

Also, the cover is gorgeous!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hunchback by Soau Ichikawa challenges the deeply ingrained notion that disabled people cannot or should not be seen as sexual beings. The story doesn’t shy away from confronting societal discomfort, and while certain parts made me uneasy, it also forced me to reflect on why I felt that way. It’s rare to see a book tackle this subject so directly, and I appreciated the way it pushed boundaries and questioned assumptions.

My only complaint? I wish it had been longer. There was so much more to explore within this story, and I would have loved a deeper dive into the characters and themes.