Hunchback
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Publishing:6th Mar '25
£10.99
This title is due to be published on 6th March, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
'A must-read debut. Funny and frank, this book lingers in the mind long after you turn the final page' BBC Books of 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.
‘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
'A lithe, thrilling book — Saou’s writing is as sharp as a knife' Pandora Sykes
'Will leave no reader unchanged' Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies
‘This is an essential book.’ Daisy Lafarge, author of Paul
A must-read debut. Funny and frank, this book lingers in the mind long after you turn the final page * BBC Books of 2025 *
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 * Best Books of 2025, AnOther Magazine *
One of the best books of 2025 * Radio Times *
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 * Foyles, Best Translated Fiction of 2025 *
A lithe, thrilling book — Saou’s writing is as sharp as a knife -- Pandora Sykes
Uproariously funny, unflinching, and merciless. It's not very often you encounter this provocative and yet so refreshingly honest of a read. -- Mariana Enriquez, author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
Filled with unforgettable insight -- Sayaka Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman
A forceful and original novel which will leave no reader unchanged -- Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies
Brazen in its intensity, radical in its vitality -- Saba Sams, author of Send Nudes
Propulsive, sexy and distilled, Hunchback is the novel on disability and desire I’ve been waiting for. Shifting between the minutiae of physical limits and broader structures of ableism, Saou Ichikawa's writing is as narratively gripping as it is explosively insightful. This is an essential book. -- Daisy Lafarge, author of Paul
ISBN: 9780241700785
Dimensions: 198mm x 130mm x 10mm
Weight: 113g
112 pages