Tomoki and Kosmo are fifth graders. Unlike Tomoki, who grew up in an ordinary but comfortable home, Kosmo has always suffered his father’s violence. He is rebellious and even threatening to classmates, so he has no friends besides Tomoki. After his mother, who also endured the father’s violence, leaves, Kosmo is left alone with Gaia. He receives none of a parent’s warmth and cannot even count on a proper meal or decent clothes. Tomoki is frustrated that he cannot spend time with other friends

Tomoki is a fifth grader with a friend named Kosmo. Kosmo lives with his father and younger sibling Gaia, and suffers his father’s violence. Tomoki knows about Kosmo’s situation, sometimes gives up his own things for him, and feels sorry for him; that is how he maintains his one and only friendship. One day Kosmo comes to Tomoki and begs for help, saying he went into his father’s room and broke the computer. Tomoki cannot turn him away and goes to Kosmo’s house. There he sees Kosmo’s father

A son and his friend flee from his murderous father. They are elementary-school students, so they cannot make sound judgments and have nowhere in particular to go. How long can they keep running? No adult may believe them, and the murderous father is a police officer. The murderer’s pursuit and the children hiding from him made me think of hide-and-seek. The friend seems to feel the same way and calls it a group game called Wolf and Rabbit. In a game, even if the rabbit team is caught, they are

This book is beyond anything you could imagine. The more I read, the less I understood where it was going. Everything unfolded very differently from what I had predicted, but that made it more fun. I usually prefer movies to dramas because I dislike long stories, but if this book were adapted, I hope it would become a drama. I would like it to take its time and go on longer 🤩. I also hope it would show the characters’ emotional arcs in detail without skipping anything. That is how much I

When violence or neglect occurs at home, it is especially hard for a child to disclose the abuse and ask for help when the abuser is a guardian. Home should be a place where children are protected and can rest, but it becomes a place where violence and abuse happen. Children do not want to return, yet cannot simply stay away, and the vicious cycle continues. It is fortunate when someone nearby notices and reaches out, but a guardian may make excuses such as “I was disciplining the child because

I tend to enjoy mystery and crime novels in which even the smallest clue is uncovered and used to solve a case. I became especially drawn to narrative trickery, and now I seem to choose a book as soon as I see those words, without even looking at its description. Takemaru Abiko is a master of narrative tricks. His earlier novel The Disease Leading to Slaughter is said to have astonished readers with its shocking ending. I have not read it yet, but the final twist in this book was so startling

This is a new novel from the author whose The Disease Leading to Slaughter left a deep impression with its clever construction and narrative-trick twist. If that earlier book used intricate tricks to deliver a shock readers could hardly detect, this book is driven mainly by a chase between two elementary-school students and a culprit who seems like a psychopath. Shigeo, a police officer who beats his wife at home and terrorizes his two sons, makes the atmosphere after he comes home seem more

The author’s name may sound unfamiliar, but readers who hear The Disease Leading to Slaughter may recognize it. That book made a strong impression with its vivid descriptions. Compared with it, this one is milder. The author’s note helps explain why: it was originally conceived for children, but the author hesitated over the cruel story, so although the protagonists are children, the intended readers became adults. The book’s most distinctive feature for me was its first paragraph. Unlike other

Run to the end from the monster called Father! The cruel mystery The Game of the Wolf and the Rabbit by Takemaru Abiko came out more than 20 years after The Disease Leading to Slaughter and, as expected, features a twist and narrative trickery. It depicts a perilous chase between a violent father and two boys trying to escape him. It has a brisk pace, an unpredictable twist, and an astonishing ending worthy of Abiko. It is a new novel from him after a long wait. The story follows a domestic