Under the Eye of the Big Bird is a collection of 14 short interwoven stories that is set in a dystopian future earth where small tribes of bioengineered humans are created either through deliberate matches or in 'factories' and exist under the watchful gaze of a group of mysterious individuals known as 'Mothers' and are observed by those dubbed 'Watchers'. The novels overarching themes explore what it means to be alive, to survive, to evolve and most importantly what it is to love in a somewhat unsettling manner, without spoiling the novel evolved humans are no different than we ever were when it comes to finding the alien, the other.

A thought-provoking read and enjoyable enough to be a commute style read for me.

I really enjoy translated fiction sci-fi and Fantasy. I have to say this is my first introduction to Kawakami but I really enjoyed this. I loved that the stories within are separate but also share a sense of connection. On top of this I adored the way that Kawakami deals with humanity, or rather what humanity is capable of in the face of near extinction.

The main thing I found I enjoyed was the prose, which was wonderfully translated by Asa Yoneda, was so beautiful and sometimes haunting. I really loved this collection, I’ve already ordered the physical copy. It’s the perfect blend of science fiction, fantasy and speculative.

As always thank you to Granta Publications for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

I have been meaning to write up my thoughts on Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami (translated by Asa Yoneda) for a while now and the fact that it has been longlisted for the International Booker prize has spurred me into action. First off, thank you @grantabooks via @netgalley for the review copy. I love Kawakami and have read almost all of her back catalogue. I also already knew from reading the synopsis that this sounded like a departure from her previous work - a speculative fiction about the near-extinction of humanity. I guess I didn’t read the description closely enough to realise it was made up of fourteen interconnected stories so it took me a while to find my footing. Under the Eye of the Big Bird is subtle and lacking in any kind of time markers, making it difficult to know whether we are in the same time-period in each story or whether we are in the past or the future. It was disorientating and unsettling and I never quite got used to it. The themes that run through each story, from genetic manipulation/adaptation, cloning and AI ‘Mothers’ to the frailty of humanity and the fact that we are doomed to go in loving and fighting to the very end, are interesting in and of themselves but I found the simplicity of the language and the almost fragmentariness created by the short stories that made up the novel frustrating. I could never really immerse myself in the story because I couldn’t visualise the world (or worlds?) Kawakami had created and couldn’t really believe in this speculative future. Perhaps this will work for some, but it didn’t work for me though I do wonder what I may have missed after seeing its inclusion in the International Booker prize longlist. Maybe if it makes the shortlist I’ll give it another go!

A varied short story collection, this started out strong but unfortunately fell apart as the book went on. I really enjoyed the first few stories, I thought they were so interesting and original. However, as the stories began to connect I felt the overall tone of the novel shift. The stories began to focus heavily on their interconnection and less on the plot and speculative nature of the earlier stories. Towards the end I found myself losing interest in the main plot points and characters, which is a shame because the writing was clever.

Thank you to @netgalley #netgalley for this #arc written by #hiromikawakami translated by #asayoneda titled #undertheeyeofthebigbird

I have read every translated book by Hiromi Kawakami I believe. I have always enjoyed them, they haven't blown me away but I would always pick up her books for sure.

For me, the style of her written and content is very much a good example of #translatedjapanesefiction but in this story, she essentially shifts into #sciencefiction in many respects which changes the style and dynamics of her writing.

I really enjoyed this book, Kawakami doesn't waste time going into detail about how and why humans are dying out aside from that we make the same mistakes again and again. She focuses on various perspectives and concepts that bring to life our despise, how the world adapts and fight for survival and specific changes that are associated with these things.

Each chapter could have been it's own novella and there is so much scope to dive deeper into the characters and the world that has been created here.

It is depressing in the sense that, us as a species seem to be heading the same way and do not learn but it does force you to reflect and philosophise about the future.

Overall I loved this and would happily recommend to everyone, enjoy!

#honnomushi100 #reading #japanesefiction #translatedfiction #translatedjapaneseliterature #booksfromjapan #booklover #bookstagram #translatedgems #japaneseauthor #newbooks2025 #japaneseauthors #japaneseliterature

I was blown away by this book! I’ve been a huge fan of Hiromi Kawakami for years now but this was absolutely unlike anything else she’s written. The sci fi elements were so cool and unique and the whole book was really intriguing and sucked me in. I loved the characters and how unique and complex they all were, even if I was slightly confused by what they were at times. I can’t wait to reread this and do a deeper dive into the themes present.

In a distant future where humans teeter on the edge of extinction, survival takes on strange and fascinating forms. From bioengineered children to plant-like beings, life has adapted in ways both wondrous and unsettling. Yet, as small tribes struggle to persist under the watchful gaze of mysterious "Mothers," the question remains—can connection, love, and evolution endure?

Told through fourteen interconnected episodes that span eons, this novel offers a sweeping, almost dreamlike exploration of humanity’s transformation. The disorienting timeline makes it difficult to attach to any one character or society, but the broader vision is deeply compelling. Kawakami’s prose, beautifully translated by Asa Yoneda, is both mournful and lyrical, painting a delicate portrait of a world on the brink.

Beautiful, sad, hopeful, and thought-provoking—this book is a breathtaking fusion of science, fantasy, and anthropology. Kawakami crafts a world both strange and familiar, where humanity’s survival is uncertain, yet the spirit of evolution endures. The writing is exquisite, the ideas profound, and the execution nothing short of masterful.

There is nothing this book isn’t, and it does it all exceedingly well.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

This is my first Kawakami book but will not be my last, Enjoyed this title immensely

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Under The Eye Of The Bug Bird takes a different perspective in every chapter of a future world where the population is doing everything it can to survive. Children are bred for a particular purpose; some are made in factories, and others are born. Then there are The Mothers who oversee everything.

Sometimes the world seems very similar to the one we know and are easy to follow, whereas others are so dramatically different that it is hard to fully grasp how everything comes together. Generally we see the world through the eyes of children as they grow up. We learn how they were born or created, and what life they lead as they move on into adulthood.

I kept wanting to stop at the end of each chapter to reflect. There isn’t a clear plot running through each chapter necessarily, but connected characters and themes bring you from one perspective to another. A great exploration of what the world could look like as humans and technology evolve over thousands of years.

Under the Eye of the Big Bird is a surreal and atmospheric novel that blends the mundane with the uncanny in classic Hiromi Kawakami fashion. Her prose is quiet yet deeply evocative, creating a dreamlike world where reality and fantasy bleed into one another. The novel’s themes of memory, loneliness, and human connection unfold subtly, leaving space for interpretation and reflection.

While the narrative’s ambiguity may not be for everyone, Kawakami’s ability to craft an immersive and melancholic atmosphere is undeniable. Fans of her other works will appreciate the gentle strangeness and poetic beauty woven throughout this novel.

A breathtaking blend of science and poetry, Under the Eye of the Big Bird reimagines humanity at the brink of extinction. In a world of bioengineered children, symbiotic lifeforms, and enigmatic "Mothers," the novel explores love, evolution, and what it means to survive. Haunting yet hopeful, it weaves hard science with mythic beauty, offering a vision as unsettling as it is profound. What a beautiful piece of surrealist literature, keen to check out more of Kawakami's work!

More like a collection of inter-related short stories, set in a far future where the human population is in decline and extreme measures are required to prevent extinction. The stories don’t follow a linear timeline so while some characters make appearances in multiple stories they’re not necessarily in order. The final two stories answer many posed of the questions posed by the earlier ones.
It’s an immersive read that I enjoyed.

'Under the Eye of the Big Bird' exists of stories, all set in the same future world and more or less interlinked. Some stories I found really interesting, others not so much. It is well done and the ideas are great and original, but I expected a novel and because of that I probably wasn't totally invested in this.
Thank you Granta and Netgalley UK for the ARC.

I really liked this book by Kawakami. She handled the themes delicately, and it's one that will stick in my mind for a while.

What a fascinating, unclassifiable novel this is. It has, as becomes clear, one storyline, which unfolds over a dozen or so separate stories. The first story drops us into what seems to be the far future with little explanation. Humanity has suffered a massive population drop, through some unspecified genetic or medical disaster, and exists in small rural communities distant from one another. Reproduction has also ceased, and new humans are made in factories. What appear to be first robots, but are some kind of artificial creature, the Great Mothers, take care of newborns. Though the perspective and characters change with each story, the storyline develops as a caste of humans, the watchers, and the mothers attempt to jumpstart human evolution through various methods including cloning and using animal genes.

The hidden hand of AI is made clear in the penultimate story and there’s another leap at the very end, in which the whole time-frame of the novel is violently upended. Written in a clear, sparse style that readers of contemporary Japanese fiction in translation will immediately feel at home with, Kawakami’s eon-spanning future history draws comparisons with not only recent ecological collapse novels such as Scattered all over the Earth or How High We Go In The Dark, but with the future histories of writers such as Clarke and Stapledon. As ever, speculative fiction is a mirror to society and Kawakami in her elusive fable puts her own spin on the birth-rate crisis gripping countries like Japan and South Korea.

This is definitely not a book you quickly read over. The futuristic theme and the interconnected stories are written well and very interesting. Still frome time to time I had to re-read the stories, but I think if you are someone who reads stories like this more often/ frequently you will enjoy this book quite much.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free digital ARC of this one! This is my third Hiromi Kawakami, and it was super different from the others - in a good way! She’s ventured into the science fiction realm, exploring a near future where humans have gone extinct and been slowly reintroduced through cloning. If I hadn’t read How High We Go in the Dark a couple of weeks before, I probably would have enjoyed this even more, but they’re quite similar in their themes and structure, and HHWGITD just did it better in my opinion. But if you like quiet, humanity-driven science fiction, like Station Eleven, you’ll really appreciate this one!

As it’s told in interconnected vignettes, I think it’s a good idea to read it in decent sized chunks. I read it while super busy with work, and so it took me almost a week and by the end of the week, when I came across a character’s POV mentioned earlier in the book, their role wasn’t as fresh in my mind as I’d like it to be. I think it would be much more satisfying to have all of those a-ha! moments.

I think it’s one I’ll revisit in the future, hopefully with more time to dedicate to it! As it stands, I still found it thoroughly engaging.

Interlinking stories which felt, for the most part, like a fever dream. The stories are speculative, futuristic and require concentration, as the extinction of the human race is examined. Most of the stories interested me, although some were too vague and I was left feeling lost every now again (maybe that was the intention!) Overall, I enjoyed this and it was certainty memorable.

Okay, I should have read the description closer before requesting this- I just read the author's name and knew I wanted to read Kawakami. It was my fault I did not enjoy it!

This story is an absolute fever dream. Telling the story of the earth towards it's potential end through a series of interconnected stories, we get a picture of clones, artificial intelligence and psychic abilities, and the story leaves us to try and piece what is happening together.

I really enjoyed this, although it could be a little vague at times I felt the characters shone through, and were memorable. There's a POV switch each chapter, and I enjoyed my time with each, while looking forward to the new piece of the story that the next would bring me.