かか

by 宇佐見 りん

うーちゃん、19歳。母（かか）を救うため、ある無謀な祈りを胸に熊野へ。第56回文藝賞、第33回三島賞受賞。世代を超えたベストセラー『推し、燃ゆ』著者のデビュー作。書下し短編「三十一日」収録。

Genres: Japanese Literature

Audible Audio

Published June 2, 2023

Reviews

[Vj · Rating 4 out of 5]

that someone, not just a 20 year old but anyone, could write this is a bit startling. the concept of 推し、燃ゆ seems like easy and ripe material for a writer to tackle, whereas かか, Usami's first novel, is centered around the maelstromic relationship between a mother and daughter in which the mother, once revered by the daughter, descends into madness as the result of neglect by her parents and her children's father/ex-husband. the conceit is really sort of niche, but on top of that the relationship itself seems far too complex for the average writer to attempt. and sure enough, the novel ends up dipping into the psychospiritual, with Usami putting to paper some extremely intimate psychological images. the story is also both told in second-person, in the manner of a parent telling a tale to their child, and narrated in a specific idiolect (かか弁, which something like a pseudo-Kansai dialect mixed with childish speech patterns). the narration perfectly encapsulates the dynamics between the protagonist and her mother, giving weight to all the events.

[January · Rating 3 out of 5]

繊細。

[Wenjing · Rating 3 out of 5]

很可爱的写法，但可惜不是我喜欢的类型，甚至是我特别讨厌的写法。就算是严肃写作中，我也非常不喜欢因为不注意而随意地改变视角和主语，更何况全文这样写。能get到其中的女性意识（反性缘）和母女关系，甚至很有代入感，很同龄人的感觉。看完才知道作者比我还小很多，期待她未来的作品。

[Giulia Shahinaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️