Hunchback

By (author) Ichikawa, Saou
Description:

LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2025

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 online: 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 twenty-first century, Hunchback is an extraordinary, thrilling glimpse into the desire and darkness of a woman placed at humanity’s edge.

''A must-read debut. Funny and frank, this book lingers in the mind long after you turn the final page'' BBC Books of 2025

Hunchback is one of the boldest and most unusual books to emerge from a mainstream publisher in years. It''s a brilliant, riveting book that lets us tune into the voices we have long kept suppressed. Sunday Times

‘Uproariously funny, unflinching, and merciless’ Mariana Enriquez, author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

‘Filled with unforgettable insight’ Sakaya Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman

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Unapologetic, unashamed and unflinching. Hunchback grips the reader with its raw, fizzing, subversive energy, even as it shakes off shackles — both physical and mental. A book that moved and thrilled us.
Review quote:
Hunchback is one of the boldest and most unusual books to emerge from a mainstream publisher in years. It''s a brilliant, riveting book that lets us tune into the voices we have long kept suppressed.
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A must-read debut. Funny and frank, this book lingers in the mind long after you turn the final page
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Gloriously transgressive. The novel asks us which is more important: access to culture or to sexual expression? And, like all good fiction, it doesn’t provide a straight answer.''
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Written with guts and wit, Hunchback is a tender and defiant story which forces readers to think far beyond ableist concepts of who gets to desire and be desired
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Thrillingly transgressive... a difficult, intriguingly recalcitrant, form-busting book
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One of the best books of 2025
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Hailed as one of the most important Japanese novels of the 21st century, Hunchback is a subversive and morally complex story that dismantles assumptions about disability. A difficult but revelatory read, expect Hunchback to be one of the most talked about books of the year
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A remarkable and original study of yearning. Funny, lively and very touching.
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A lithe, thrilling book — Saou’s writing is as sharp as a knife
Biographical note:
Saou Ichikawa (1979-) graduated from the School of Human Sciences, Waseda University. Her bestselling debut novel Hunchback won the 128th Bungakukai Prize for New Writers and the 169th Akutagawa Prize. She is the first author with a physical disability to receive the Akutagawa Prize, Japan''s premier literary award. She has congenital myopathy, and uses a ventilator and an electric wheelchair