Work

The dam breaks on the world when a dismembered body hints at a grisly murder. The prime suspect arrested was the victim’s older brother Takashi Nozawa, a prominent civil servant loved by all. This novel uncompromisingly delves into the existential crises of the 2000s, imagining the future world with shocking and prescient accuracy—the disempowerment of knowledge, terrorism and suicide bombings, the proliferation of violence by the media… The stunning conclusion sparked fierce controversy with its relentlessly detailed descriptions of the collapse of a family and an individual. Marking the end of the 20th century and the start of Hirano’s dividualism, this is an edgy accomplishment and turning point. Awarded 59th Education, Science and Technology Ministers Art Encouragement Prize for New Writers.