Eric Faye’s Nagasaki, which won Grand Prix du roman de l’Académie française, is a book that leaves people curious in its very first pages. First, a great quote from Pascal Quignard and a short explanation that follows will make you turn the pages faster.
“This novel is based on a real event published in May 2008 in many Japanese newspapers, including Asahi.”
Make sure you will finish the book in one sitting because it is a short novel. However, the weight of the event in the book will stay with you for a long time. Then you will think that this has really happened and you will be amazed again. The Japanese are truly unique in many ways. Even though I know this, the things I hear from time to time still amaze me. Eric Faye, on the other hand, managed to explain this most strikingly. You will think profusely about loneliness, society, life, private spaces, peace at home. Also, you will question what to do if the same situation happened to you. Even the thought of it is enough to terrify a person; still, there are mixed feelings.
The letter at the end of the book will also break your heart. Maybe it will make you look at certain people with different eyes. You may even make up short stories for them, who knows? Read this book. Also if you don’t like it – which is very unlikely, you will read about an extraordinary event. Enjoy!
Nagasaki
Based on a true story. Winner of the 2010 Academie Française novel award.
In a house on a suburban street in Nagasaki, meteorologist Shimura Kobo lives quietly on his own. Or so he believes. Food begins to go missing. Perturbed by this threat to his orderly life, Shimura sets up a webcam to monitor his home. But though eager to identify his intruder, is Shimura really prepared for what the camera will reveal? This prize-winning novel is a heart-rending tale of alienation in the modern world.
Eric Faye
Born in Limoges, Éric Faye is a journalist and the prize-winning author of more than twenty books, including novels and travel memoirs. He was awarded the Académie Française Grand Prix du Roman in 2010 for Nagasaki.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
