A witty deadpan novel about modern relationships pets and living as a single woman for fans
of Sayaka Murata offbeat humor and sharp social observation In this skewed mordantly funny
Japanese novel two women navigate aging and relationships in divergent ways. Hirai 38 has
recently started living with her colleague Suganuma 42. Both women are single and feel
ambivalent at best about the prospect of marriage. Stuck in bland jobs that don't pay enough
for them to afford one-bedroom apartments in the city they defy social expectation and create
their own domestic routines allowing space for Suganuma's side-hustle--3D-printing figurines
of beloved dead pets for their grieving owners. Though initially united by their resistance to
romantic love the pair begin tentative forays toward partnership. Suganuma strikes up a secret
affair which shocks Hirai into action and back into the world of dating apps. As she drifts
through painfully adequate dates and endures intrusive questions at office socials Hirai frets
over whether she really needs to freeze her eggs again. In a dating world sapped of genuine
connection where can she turn to feel less hollow? The debut novel by a bright new voice in
Japanese fiction Hollow Inside won the prestigious Subaru Prize. With a dark deadpan tone and
sharply witty observation Asako Otani satirizes the myths and pressures of contemporary
romantic love as Hirai and Suganuma try to chart their own paths in a precarious world.
