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The Forest Brims Over
A woman turns herself into a forest after long being co-opted to serve as the subject of her husband’s novels—this surrealist fable challenges traditional gender attitudes and exploitation in the literary world
Nowatari Rui has long been the subject of her husband’s novels, depicted as a pure woman who takes great pleasure in sex. With her privacy and identity continually stripped away, she has come to be seen by society first and foremost as the inspiration for her husband’s art. When a decade’s worth of frustrations reaches its boiling point, Rui consumes a bowl of seeds, and buds and roots begin to sprout all over her body. Instead of taking her to a hospital, her husband keeps her in an aquaterrarium, set to compose a new novel based on this unsettling experience. But Rui breaks away from her husband by growing into a forest—and in time, she takes over the entire city.
As fantasy and reality bleed together, The Forest Brims Over challenges unconscious gender biases and explores the boundaries between art and exploitation—muse abuse—in the literary world.
Nowatari Rui has long been the subject of her husband’s novels, depicted as a pure woman who takes great pleasure in sex. With her privacy and identity continually stripped away, she has come to be seen by society first and foremost as the inspiration for her husband’s art. When a decade’s worth of frustrations reaches its boiling point, Rui consumes a bowl of seeds, and buds and roots begin to sprout all over her body. Instead of taking her to a hospital, her husband keeps her in an aquaterrarium, set to compose a new novel based on this unsettling experience. But Rui breaks away from her husband by growing into a forest—and in time, she takes over the entire city.
As fantasy and reality bleed together, The Forest Brims Over challenges unconscious gender biases and explores the boundaries between art and exploitation—muse abuse—in the literary world.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2019
57 people are currently reading
6964 people want to read
About the author
Maru Ayase
28 books22 followersMARU AYASE (森があふれる) has published seventeen books, many of which have been finalists for major awards in Japan. The Forest Brims Over is her first title to be translated into English.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 297 reviews
July 12, 2023
Pensieri in corso ora che sono a metà lettura (potrei modificare successivamente, se non faccio aggiornamenti vuol dire che il mio pensiero non cambia):
Parla di incomunicabilità di coppia, ponendosi a metà tra "La vegetariana" di Han Kang e il film "Mermaid in the Manhole" di Hideshi Hino (ma senza lo splatter). Al momento gli manca il guizzo, però.
Parla di incomunicabilità di coppia, ponendosi a metà tra "La vegetariana" di Han Kang e il film "Mermaid in the Manhole" di Hideshi Hino (ma senza lo splatter). Al momento gli manca il guizzo, però.
August 1, 2024
I don’t like comparing books, but The Forest Brims Over by Maru Ayase feels like the Japanese remake of The Vegetarian by Han Kang.
The Forest Brims Over is a magical realism book in which Rui, the wife of an author, swallows some seeds and becomes a forest. What starts as a drastic measure to protest and rebel is stolen by the writer and used for his new book. The book has five different chapters in which different characters observe how Tetsuya Nowatari exploited his muse: Nowatari’s editor at the moment Rui becomes a forest, the student Nowatari cheat’s Rui with, Nowatari’s second editor (a woman), Nowatari himself, and (finally) Rui.
This was such an interesting and original read. I don’t know what I expected at the beginning, maybe just weird fiction with a sprinkle of feminism or a feminist novel with a sprinkle of weird fiction, but it was so much more. The book talks heavily about expectations and portrayals of women in fiction and society. What I liked the best was the criticism against misogyny and how embedded it is in Japanese society (and the Japanese literary world). Nowatari seems like an a-hole from moment one not only as he uses his wife, doesn’t care about how she’s decided to become a plant, cheats on her... yet everyone seems to think he’s a good guy. To become a famous author, he took the roles of romantic lover and feminist only because he was using his muse to do so.
My ‘favorite’ bits were how little we knew about the forest situation. Weird fiction just doesn’t work for me because I’m not good at suspending my disbelief so the less I know about nonsensical things, the better. The other thing was just getting to know Rui’s situation from other people. It only dawned on me that we aren’t told why she decided to become a forest until chapter 4. Till then, I had just accepted the simple explanation given in chapter 1 by a dude that didn’t even know her. We have so many assumptions and ideas of Rui and outsiders that when we get to the end we feel like we know her, but we really don’t. (And I guess I didn’t like her chapter. She wasn’t what I expected and the feminist speeches were a bit too on the nose).
3 stars (would have been 4 if it weren’t for the last chapter). I enjoyed the commentary. The translation was flawless, it was lyrical and flowed nicely. I’m looking forward to more by Maru Ayase and Haydn Trowell.
Bit I liked:
"Well . .. If you're going to complain, you should just read books by women authors. Don't whine about other people's bookshelves-build your own. You could read adventure stories by female authors with female protagonists. It isn't my fault if there aren't enough books like that on the market. That's on them. And besides, there are plenty of unrealistic depictions of men by female writers as well, so it's mutual. It's important not to encroach on each other's territory."
"If it's mutual, does that mean women are women, and so should be allowed to enjoy unrealistic depictions of men as much as they want?"
"That's what freedom of expression means. There's no use complaining to me about it."
The Forest Brims Over is a magical realism book in which Rui, the wife of an author, swallows some seeds and becomes a forest. What starts as a drastic measure to protest and rebel is stolen by the writer and used for his new book. The book has five different chapters in which different characters observe how Tetsuya Nowatari exploited his muse: Nowatari’s editor at the moment Rui becomes a forest, the student Nowatari cheat’s Rui with, Nowatari’s second editor (a woman), Nowatari himself, and (finally) Rui.
This was such an interesting and original read. I don’t know what I expected at the beginning, maybe just weird fiction with a sprinkle of feminism or a feminist novel with a sprinkle of weird fiction, but it was so much more. The book talks heavily about expectations and portrayals of women in fiction and society. What I liked the best was the criticism against misogyny and how embedded it is in Japanese society (and the Japanese literary world). Nowatari seems like an a-hole from moment one not only as he uses his wife, doesn’t care about how she’s decided to become a plant, cheats on her... yet everyone seems to think he’s a good guy. To become a famous author, he took the roles of romantic lover and feminist only because he was using his muse to do so.
My ‘favorite’ bits were how little we knew about the forest situation. Weird fiction just doesn’t work for me because I’m not good at suspending my disbelief so the less I know about nonsensical things, the better. The other thing was just getting to know Rui’s situation from other people. It only dawned on me that we aren’t told why she decided to become a forest until chapter 4. Till then, I had just accepted the simple explanation given in chapter 1 by a dude that didn’t even know her. We have so many assumptions and ideas of Rui and outsiders that when we get to the end we feel like we know her, but we really don’t. (And I guess I didn’t like her chapter. She wasn’t what I expected and the feminist speeches were a bit too on the nose).
3 stars (would have been 4 if it weren’t for the last chapter). I enjoyed the commentary. The translation was flawless, it was lyrical and flowed nicely. I’m looking forward to more by Maru Ayase and Haydn Trowell.
Bit I liked:
"Well . .. If you're going to complain, you should just read books by women authors. Don't whine about other people's bookshelves-build your own. You could read adventure stories by female authors with female protagonists. It isn't my fault if there aren't enough books like that on the market. That's on them. And besides, there are plenty of unrealistic depictions of men by female writers as well, so it's mutual. It's important not to encroach on each other's territory."
"If it's mutual, does that mean women are women, and so should be allowed to enjoy unrealistic depictions of men as much as they want?"
"That's what freedom of expression means. There's no use complaining to me about it."
June 26, 2023
La Foresta Trabocca parla di uomini e di donne, soprattutto di donne.
Parla dell'intimità dei problemi di coppia, delle dinamiche delle relazioni, coniugali ed extra-, dell'incomunicabilità tra partner, della manipolazione dell'individuo forte dei due sull'altro.
Parla di come non si dovrebbe mai finire a perdonare tutto in nome dell'amore, di come l'amore vada coltivato da entrambe le parti, di come sentirsi invisibili agli occhi dell'altro possa portare a una rabbia incontenibile, traboccante. Di come non si dovrebbe mai sottostare a regole che non si ha mai accettato. Di come il consenso sia sempre, sempre indispensabile.
Parla dei ruoli che la società (soprattutto giapponese) ha attribuito alla donna: una figura mite, pacata, che non alza la voce, che non ha opinioni forti anzi, non ne ha affatto, sostiene quelle del marito; una figura che deve essere vuota, pronta ad accogliere ciò che il marito ha da offrirle. Parla della donna vista come figura materna in una relazione etero, che si deve prendere cura del marito, pronta a consolarlo e ascoltarlo e che viene vista come "ancora" per l'ideale di famiglia, come detentrice delle responsabilità della casa e della coppia. E in quanto àncora, viene percepita pesante, qualcosa da cui scappare, di cui liberarsi per sentirsi sereni e da cui puntualmente tornare per svuotarsi del proprio malessere. Vivere senza una donna in casa è da falliti.
E parla anche della donna nell'ambiente lavorativo, nel quale dovrebbe essere sorridente, non esporsi troppo, non imporsi sui colleghi maschi e non dovrebbe ambire troppo a fare carriera.
Infine, parla anche di come gli uomini sono vittime loro stessi della mascolinità tossica che impone loro standard di virilità che si riflettono nel loro comportamento nel quotidiano. Alcune cose sono da femmine, altre da maschi e i maschi che fanno cose da femmine non sono degni di essere chiamati uomini. I romanzi rosa, i fiori, la moda sono da femmine. Essere innamorati, provare emozioni, piangere è da femmine.
Il gaslighting e il victim blaming in questo libro (visti ovviamente con occhio critico) mi hanno fatto ribollire il sangue nelle vene. Una parte di me è entrata in perfetta sintonia con questo libro perché la rabbia della protagonista, il suo sgomento e la sua frustrazione le ho vissute anch'io.
La scrittura è molto evocativa. Il pretesto weird per la trama funziona benissimo, una metafora perfetta che permette di giocare anche sul filo del realismo magico, mischiando realtà e immaginazione, presente e passato in un mondo onirico immerso nelle piante della foresta.
In sostanza: l'ho amato, tantissimo. Letto al momento giusto.
Grazie Add.
Parla dell'intimità dei problemi di coppia, delle dinamiche delle relazioni, coniugali ed extra-, dell'incomunicabilità tra partner, della manipolazione dell'individuo forte dei due sull'altro.
Parla di come non si dovrebbe mai finire a perdonare tutto in nome dell'amore, di come l'amore vada coltivato da entrambe le parti, di come sentirsi invisibili agli occhi dell'altro possa portare a una rabbia incontenibile, traboccante. Di come non si dovrebbe mai sottostare a regole che non si ha mai accettato. Di come il consenso sia sempre, sempre indispensabile.
Parla dei ruoli che la società (soprattutto giapponese) ha attribuito alla donna: una figura mite, pacata, che non alza la voce, che non ha opinioni forti anzi, non ne ha affatto, sostiene quelle del marito; una figura che deve essere vuota, pronta ad accogliere ciò che il marito ha da offrirle. Parla della donna vista come figura materna in una relazione etero, che si deve prendere cura del marito, pronta a consolarlo e ascoltarlo e che viene vista come "ancora" per l'ideale di famiglia, come detentrice delle responsabilità della casa e della coppia. E in quanto àncora, viene percepita pesante, qualcosa da cui scappare, di cui liberarsi per sentirsi sereni e da cui puntualmente tornare per svuotarsi del proprio malessere. Vivere senza una donna in casa è da falliti.
E parla anche della donna nell'ambiente lavorativo, nel quale dovrebbe essere sorridente, non esporsi troppo, non imporsi sui colleghi maschi e non dovrebbe ambire troppo a fare carriera.
Infine, parla anche di come gli uomini sono vittime loro stessi della mascolinità tossica che impone loro standard di virilità che si riflettono nel loro comportamento nel quotidiano. Alcune cose sono da femmine, altre da maschi e i maschi che fanno cose da femmine non sono degni di essere chiamati uomini. I romanzi rosa, i fiori, la moda sono da femmine. Essere innamorati, provare emozioni, piangere è da femmine.
Il gaslighting e il victim blaming in questo libro (visti ovviamente con occhio critico) mi hanno fatto ribollire il sangue nelle vene. Una parte di me è entrata in perfetta sintonia con questo libro perché la rabbia della protagonista, il suo sgomento e la sua frustrazione le ho vissute anch'io.
La scrittura è molto evocativa. Il pretesto weird per la trama funziona benissimo, una metafora perfetta che permette di giocare anche sul filo del realismo magico, mischiando realtà e immaginazione, presente e passato in un mondo onirico immerso nelle piante della foresta.
In sostanza: l'ho amato, tantissimo. Letto al momento giusto.
Grazie Add.
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September 7, 2023Was keen to read this because of the premise—a woman named Rui's frustration toward her exploitative husband compels her to transform into a forest—but, sadly, Rui and her transformation hardly feature in the book.
September 26, 2023
Obviously I love a book where a woman turns both figuratively and literally into a tree, and I think there’s a lot of really beautiful imagery in here, but the soapbox speeches about sexism became a LITTLE over the top at a certain point. The Bechdel test is mentioned by name less than two pages from the end.
If you liked Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Phantom Thread I think you’d enjoy this. Also, how fucking gorgeous is that cover???
If you liked Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Phantom Thread I think you’d enjoy this. Also, how fucking gorgeous is that cover???
September 15, 2025
https://www.instagram.com/p/DObIpUGDR...
“Of course I was happy. How could I not be, with the person I love trying so desperately to find me? But no matter how much you love someone, there are some things you just can’t forgive.”
🌳🌿🌷
A magically infused look into the subtle ways that misogyny becomes normalized, and the ways in which women are used as the ultimate muse, but resented for their artistic and intellectual input. With its parallels to nature, this novella makes a startling expose on man’s destructive influence over growth, literally and physically, for women in professional, artistic, and philosophical realms. The Forest Brims Over asks: is it possible to love someone unconditionally? When does art become oppression? Is it our duty to change the people in our lives for the better? It is an effective portrayal of how we reach our boiling points, when we finally say enough is enough to societal constraints and the daily reminders of how a woman should behave, and should act in order to be perceived positively under the male gaze. A written rebellion with all the visionary force of a thriving forest.
“Of course I was happy. How could I not be, with the person I love trying so desperately to find me? But no matter how much you love someone, there are some things you just can’t forgive.”
🌳🌿🌷
A magically infused look into the subtle ways that misogyny becomes normalized, and the ways in which women are used as the ultimate muse, but resented for their artistic and intellectual input. With its parallels to nature, this novella makes a startling expose on man’s destructive influence over growth, literally and physically, for women in professional, artistic, and philosophical realms. The Forest Brims Over asks: is it possible to love someone unconditionally? When does art become oppression? Is it our duty to change the people in our lives for the better? It is an effective portrayal of how we reach our boiling points, when we finally say enough is enough to societal constraints and the daily reminders of how a woman should behave, and should act in order to be perceived positively under the male gaze. A written rebellion with all the visionary force of a thriving forest.
February 1, 2024
L’idea del romanzo è accattivante e si sviluppa su due piani, quello della realtà e quello della stranezza. Per tre quarti di libro sembrano funzionare e incrociarsi mantenendo la lettura avvincente. Ad un certo punto l’autrice decide di volerci spiegare qualcosa ed entra il tema della letteratura patriarcale. Il dialogo finale tra i protagonisti è illeggibile. La metafora era molto chiara, ciò che veramente non si capisce è perché ci sia una virata didascalica così ingerente sullo stile.
May 12, 2023
Thank you to the publisher Counterpoint Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Tw: misogynistic remark, mental health issues
This book was beautifully written and I'm looking forward to more of Maru Ayase's book bcus this sold me to read more of the author's work.
I have to give it up to this book for tackling so many important issues in such a thin book. For others, you might felt the issues wasnt expanded much but i still find it refreshing to read on many different outlooks on marriage, domesticity, the idea of love, gender identity and roles taken by men & women.
Discussion on the domestic life and the meaning of consent in relationships, the rights for your spouses to create a story based on you, revealing your intimate details from physical, emotional and the in betweens. With Forest Brims over, the story was told from different perspectives on the Nowatari couple: the male editor, the student of Nowatari whom in affair with him, the female editor Shirasaki and then proceed with Nowatari point of view
There were intriguing look on the publishing industry as the mentions of editing process of manuscripts, the role of editors meeting & sharing ideas with the authors they are in charge of, the exploration on the themes of story
This surreal outlook on the marriage life and the metaphor of the wife turning into a forest are a curious thing. The unfolding nature of how fantastical and unrealistic this situation can be may be approached with delicate viewd on how real domestic life was treated.
Tw: misogynistic remark, mental health issues
This book was beautifully written and I'm looking forward to more of Maru Ayase's book bcus this sold me to read more of the author's work.
I have to give it up to this book for tackling so many important issues in such a thin book. For others, you might felt the issues wasnt expanded much but i still find it refreshing to read on many different outlooks on marriage, domesticity, the idea of love, gender identity and roles taken by men & women.
Discussion on the domestic life and the meaning of consent in relationships, the rights for your spouses to create a story based on you, revealing your intimate details from physical, emotional and the in betweens. With Forest Brims over, the story was told from different perspectives on the Nowatari couple: the male editor, the student of Nowatari whom in affair with him, the female editor Shirasaki and then proceed with Nowatari point of view
There were intriguing look on the publishing industry as the mentions of editing process of manuscripts, the role of editors meeting & sharing ideas with the authors they are in charge of, the exploration on the themes of story
This surreal outlook on the marriage life and the metaphor of the wife turning into a forest are a curious thing. The unfolding nature of how fantastical and unrealistic this situation can be may be approached with delicate viewd on how real domestic life was treated.
September 23, 2023
If a man is mean to you, become a forest and destroy his life and reputation!!!!
But actually 4.5 rounded up. The writing in this was really lovely. I could really picture the growing chaos/forest and was compelled by each new character I was introduced to.
Each character offers a new perspective into the conversation about gender roles and what our responsibilities are as individual people to break them down. I love the folklore / fairytale energy this book gave me with the very poignant and impactful messaging layered underneath it.
0.5 removed because somehow our shitty male character ends up a little bit redeemed in the end.
Quotes:
“When she stopped to think about it, what her father meant by the term down-to-earth and the young lady that those boys envisioned were probably the same thing. A woman ignorant of the world, ignorant of men, had an easily recognizable, even lovable weakness. Become a woman whom men can love. Her father had simply been encouraging her to live the way that he thought most advantageous for a member of her sex.”
“When I find ugliness, I don't want to excuse it. I want to look it in the eye and talk about it."
But actually 4.5 rounded up. The writing in this was really lovely. I could really picture the growing chaos/forest and was compelled by each new character I was introduced to.
Each character offers a new perspective into the conversation about gender roles and what our responsibilities are as individual people to break them down. I love the folklore / fairytale energy this book gave me with the very poignant and impactful messaging layered underneath it.
0.5 removed because somehow our shitty male character ends up a little bit redeemed in the end.
Quotes:
“When she stopped to think about it, what her father meant by the term down-to-earth and the young lady that those boys envisioned were probably the same thing. A woman ignorant of the world, ignorant of men, had an easily recognizable, even lovable weakness. Become a woman whom men can love. Her father had simply been encouraging her to live the way that he thought most advantageous for a member of her sex.”
“When I find ugliness, I don't want to excuse it. I want to look it in the eye and talk about it."
July 10, 2024
Just around 5 weeks later after I finished this book, I can't say I remember it all that well. It has a very interesting concept (like I said, I wrote a short body horror story about a woman turning into a tree, so naturally I'd want to read one about a woman turning into a forest).
This does have some really lovely language and the bits with the forest are super fun and enjoyable to read. But the rest of it felt like boilerplate musings about dynamics between men and women in extremely heteronormative ways. And as annoying as it is, my ADHD means that I tend to get bored very quickly if it feels like something I've seen before.
And I think I have? I think the most interesting aspect of this tiny book / novella is the one about what it means to be married to a writer and have him exploit your story and your life in service of his 'art'. That bit was affecting. But it was tiresome to read these very classic / traditional dynamics between men and women, cause I've seen it all before (and they didn't have a lot of specificity either, to my eyes): women being considered inferior to men in the work field (this time an editor lady), women taking care of the house and having full time jobs, while their husbands go and see sex workers and put their own jobs on pedestals, a lot of not communicating in any meaningful way, a lot of men not seeing women as people.
So a lot of tiresome straight monogamous drama that I've read before. And we actually visit quite a lot of POVs, but never the one I was the most interested in: Rui, the woman transforming into a forest. What a bummer.
///
Review to come when my wifi comes back (or I turn into a forest).
This does have some really lovely language and the bits with the forest are super fun and enjoyable to read. But the rest of it felt like boilerplate musings about dynamics between men and women in extremely heteronormative ways. And as annoying as it is, my ADHD means that I tend to get bored very quickly if it feels like something I've seen before.
And I think I have? I think the most interesting aspect of this tiny book / novella is the one about what it means to be married to a writer and have him exploit your story and your life in service of his 'art'. That bit was affecting. But it was tiresome to read these very classic / traditional dynamics between men and women, cause I've seen it all before (and they didn't have a lot of specificity either, to my eyes): women being considered inferior to men in the work field (this time an editor lady), women taking care of the house and having full time jobs, while their husbands go and see sex workers and put their own jobs on pedestals, a lot of not communicating in any meaningful way, a lot of men not seeing women as people.
So a lot of tiresome straight monogamous drama that I've read before. And we actually visit quite a lot of POVs, but never the one I was the most interested in: Rui, the woman transforming into a forest. What a bummer.
///
Review to come when my wifi comes back (or I turn into a forest).
December 1, 2023
I haven’t felt so excited about a book’s back cover description in AGES and was so looking forward to this read, but unfortunately it fell short for me. The concept was fascinating and I do think it achieved some interesting commentary on the male gaze and the idea of a female muse, but I was disappointed by the writing. I think perhaps there was some part of this that was lost in translation. The last two chapters were gorgeous with rich descriptions and glimpses at the characters’ inner lives, but the rest of the book felt like a string of somewhat banal dialogue that left a lot to be desired.
July 19, 2023
[4.5/5 stars]
Nowatari Tetsuya is a writer who uses his wife (Rui) as a subject for his novels. When Rui starts to 'germinate', Tetsuya's ability to write his next manuscript is affected.
From publishing industry (who's the targeted audience) to the extent of exposure and shame when writing about people, one of the most interesting aspects is to dive into a novelist's mind. This book challenges societal gender roles and highlights the misogynist depictions about women by male writers.
Told from multiple POVs - Tetsuya, Rui, Tetsuya's editor (Sekiguchi), a new editor succeeding Sekiguchi and a student attending a creative writing course (Yuko) - in addition to the intriguing look into the publishing industry, Ayase offers several perspectives of someone's interiority x how the person interacts with the outside world.
The author brilliantly incorporates metaphors in the narrative to examine love, forgiveness, misogyny, acceptance, marriage and motherhood. Through a character who is increasingly removed from the sense of humanity, Ayase exposes human being, not in its righteousness, but bringing out its bizarre behavior.
The writing style is fluid, with a smooth translation that reads like original language. When Tetsuya and Rui's inner natures intersect, the final confrontation is utterly clarifying. On a lighter note, I found myself hungry with all the mention of food. The story has slice-of-life vibes, typical (and well-developed) in Japanese literature, providing deep reflections.
By covering the publishing industry, THE FOREST BRIMS OVER (tr. Haydn Trowell) is a great companion to YELLOWFACE by R.F. Kuang, with less dark humor and more magical realism/surreal. Weird and contemplative, this slim novel under 200 pages packs a punch. I loved it!
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Counterpoint press . All opinions are my own ]
Nowatari Tetsuya is a writer who uses his wife (Rui) as a subject for his novels. When Rui starts to 'germinate', Tetsuya's ability to write his next manuscript is affected.
From publishing industry (who's the targeted audience) to the extent of exposure and shame when writing about people, one of the most interesting aspects is to dive into a novelist's mind. This book challenges societal gender roles and highlights the misogynist depictions about women by male writers.
Told from multiple POVs - Tetsuya, Rui, Tetsuya's editor (Sekiguchi), a new editor succeeding Sekiguchi and a student attending a creative writing course (Yuko) - in addition to the intriguing look into the publishing industry, Ayase offers several perspectives of someone's interiority x how the person interacts with the outside world.
The author brilliantly incorporates metaphors in the narrative to examine love, forgiveness, misogyny, acceptance, marriage and motherhood. Through a character who is increasingly removed from the sense of humanity, Ayase exposes human being, not in its righteousness, but bringing out its bizarre behavior.
The writing style is fluid, with a smooth translation that reads like original language. When Tetsuya and Rui's inner natures intersect, the final confrontation is utterly clarifying. On a lighter note, I found myself hungry with all the mention of food. The story has slice-of-life vibes, typical (and well-developed) in Japanese literature, providing deep reflections.
By covering the publishing industry, THE FOREST BRIMS OVER (tr. Haydn Trowell) is a great companion to YELLOWFACE by R.F. Kuang, with less dark humor and more magical realism/surreal. Weird and contemplative, this slim novel under 200 pages packs a punch. I loved it!
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Counterpoint press . All opinions are my own ]
June 5, 2023
A small little novel that explores the misogynistic landscapes of everyday Japanese publishing, through a collection of surreal scenes of sapling skin, forests, and monsters.
November 13, 2025
3.25 ⭐️
Honestly at one point this maybe could’ve been 4 stars. I still liked it but I found the earlier parts more interesting and subtle, and then the final chapters got a little bit too on the nose about feminism and the points the book was trying to make. I think that the points being made were good, but the approach at the end made them land less impactfully for me.
Overall though I thought this was a really interesting and cool idea for a story, and I loved how Rui’s forest and everything surrounding that was developed throughout the first 3 chapters, which were external POVs from characters outside of the focal relationship.
Honestly at one point this maybe could’ve been 4 stars. I still liked it but I found the earlier parts more interesting and subtle, and then the final chapters got a little bit too on the nose about feminism and the points the book was trying to make. I think that the points being made were good, but the approach at the end made them land less impactfully for me.
Overall though I thought this was a really interesting and cool idea for a story, and I loved how Rui’s forest and everything surrounding that was developed throughout the first 3 chapters, which were external POVs from characters outside of the focal relationship.
September 6, 2023
Interessante come altre pubblicazioni di Add che ho avuto l'occasione di leggere, purtroppo per una questione di gusto personale fatico ad entrare in sintonia con lo stile asciutto spesso proprio degli autori orientali (generalizzazione estremissima ma ci siamo capiti). Inoltre in questo caso specifico ho trovato il capovolgimento sul finale eccessivamente didascalico, per quanto comunque perfettamente riuscito nel suo intento narrativo
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June 20, 2023Let me just add this to my growing list of weird af books that I loved this year.
Thank you Counterpoint Press for the review copy!
Thank you Counterpoint Press for the review copy!
July 29, 2023
3.5/4
Una donna, moglie di un celebre scrittore, a seguito dell'ingerimento di alcuni semi, inizia a germogliare. Si parla di incomunicabilità di coppia, dinamiche di genere, gaslighting:
Non voglio più vivere in questo luogo così assurdo. Voglio uscire, voglio andare da qualche parte. Pop, la pelle della schiena le si aprì con uno scoppio. Le molteplici pulsioni ripiegate dentro di lei traboccarono rompendo gli argini. Si allungarono striscianti, si infittirono e si propagarono in modo sbalorditivo.
Dai pori della pelle di Rui spuntarono nuovi germogli verdi, fino a trasformarla in una massa cespugliosa.
《Queste tue acrobazie mi hanno stufato》 borbottò Tetsuya appoggiandosi alla testiera del letto, senza nascondere la sua esasperazione.
《Diventi subito isterica, piangi, ti mostri sofferente. Usi come arma questo comportamento vergognoso, sei meschina. Impara: non si può avere un dialogo con chi è del tutto incapace di relazionarsi agli altri. Voi donne... cedete all'emotività in un attimo. Certo, è proprio questo a rendervi amabili ma, storicamente parlando, non avete background, ed è un peccato. Non capite che la causa del problema è la vostra mancanza di socialità. Vi lamentate della discrimina zione, della disparità, ma siete fuori strada.》
Il romanzo è strutturato in 5 capitoli, ognuno da un punto di vista di un personaggio diverso, ognuno con la sua storia e ognuno legato in modo diverso con le vicende della protagonista, la cui voce la possiamo ascoltare nell'ultimo capitolo (il mio preferito). Ho avuto subito in mente la Vegetariana e Il frutto della mia donna di Han Kang, solo che mentre nella vegetariana venivano inghiottiti da un vortice di cupezza qui ci addentriamo più nel fantastico e nel weird, anche se ho trovato l'opera di Han Kang più potente, pertanto sia questo confronto che un finale un po' sbrigativo non mi fa dare un voto pieno,ma rimane comunque un romanzo che consiglio assolutamente.
Una donna, moglie di un celebre scrittore, a seguito dell'ingerimento di alcuni semi, inizia a germogliare. Si parla di incomunicabilità di coppia, dinamiche di genere, gaslighting:
Non voglio più vivere in questo luogo così assurdo. Voglio uscire, voglio andare da qualche parte. Pop, la pelle della schiena le si aprì con uno scoppio. Le molteplici pulsioni ripiegate dentro di lei traboccarono rompendo gli argini. Si allungarono striscianti, si infittirono e si propagarono in modo sbalorditivo.
Dai pori della pelle di Rui spuntarono nuovi germogli verdi, fino a trasformarla in una massa cespugliosa.
《Queste tue acrobazie mi hanno stufato》 borbottò Tetsuya appoggiandosi alla testiera del letto, senza nascondere la sua esasperazione.
《Diventi subito isterica, piangi, ti mostri sofferente. Usi come arma questo comportamento vergognoso, sei meschina. Impara: non si può avere un dialogo con chi è del tutto incapace di relazionarsi agli altri. Voi donne... cedete all'emotività in un attimo. Certo, è proprio questo a rendervi amabili ma, storicamente parlando, non avete background, ed è un peccato. Non capite che la causa del problema è la vostra mancanza di socialità. Vi lamentate della discrimina zione, della disparità, ma siete fuori strada.》
Il romanzo è strutturato in 5 capitoli, ognuno da un punto di vista di un personaggio diverso, ognuno con la sua storia e ognuno legato in modo diverso con le vicende della protagonista, la cui voce la possiamo ascoltare nell'ultimo capitolo (il mio preferito). Ho avuto subito in mente la Vegetariana e Il frutto della mia donna di Han Kang, solo che mentre nella vegetariana venivano inghiottiti da un vortice di cupezza qui ci addentriamo più nel fantastico e nel weird, anche se ho trovato l'opera di Han Kang più potente, pertanto sia questo confronto che un finale un po' sbrigativo non mi fa dare un voto pieno,ma rimane comunque un romanzo che consiglio assolutamente.
January 12, 2025
Libro corto e molto intenso, che va dritto al punto senza rinunciare ad una estetica di porcellana: preciso ed elegante.
La ricetta prevede: incomunicabilità e ruoli fissi nel rapporto uomo-donna declinati nella società giapponese, il bilanciamento fra ispirazione e sfruttamento e, soprattutto, fra privato e pubblico (cosa può un artista rivelare della vita di chi gli sta accanto senza violarlo? Come può trasformarlo per l' arte senza che questo diventi una maschera imposta nella realtà? La risposta sarebbe anche semplice se si ascoltasse la musa e se il lettore non ricercasse il letterario nella carne).
L'elemento fantastico è altamente suggestivo, un richiamo ancestrale alla vitalità e all'esplosione del sé.
Un testo che lascia da pensare.
La ricetta prevede: incomunicabilità e ruoli fissi nel rapporto uomo-donna declinati nella società giapponese, il bilanciamento fra ispirazione e sfruttamento e, soprattutto, fra privato e pubblico (cosa può un artista rivelare della vita di chi gli sta accanto senza violarlo? Come può trasformarlo per l' arte senza che questo diventi una maschera imposta nella realtà? La risposta sarebbe anche semplice se si ascoltasse la musa e se il lettore non ricercasse il letterario nella carne).
L'elemento fantastico è altamente suggestivo, un richiamo ancestrale alla vitalità e all'esplosione del sé.
Un testo che lascia da pensare.
June 24, 2023
[Copy provided by publisher]
READ IF YOU LIKE...
• Dissecting gender roles and problematic portrayals of women
• Effective use of magical realism
• Slice-of-life vibes
I THOUGHT IT WAS...
A fantastical take on the journey a woman takes to hold her husband accountable. Nowatari Tetsuya is a respected writer with a problem. His wife, Rui, has swallowed a bowl of seeds and become a slowly thickening forest all over the second story of their house. Faced with an inability to write his next manuscript, he's forced to step into the forest and confront what awaits him there.
I was impressed by how Ayase took this outrageous-sounding premise and set it up so diligently that by the time we reach it, we understand exactly why it's necessary. Most of the book actually doesn't center the Nowataris. It briefly follows the lives of those who interact with them, but through those people and their thoughts, we start to explore the ubiquitous problems of how men perceive women and get a glimpse of who Tetsuya really is.
All of this leads to the final confrontation between Tetsuya and Rui. While a bit heavy-handed toward the end, it's both heartening and heartbreaking to see the earnestness with which Rui approaches realizations about herself and her husband. This slim novel is a reminder that we should never tolerate those who try to diminish us, especially if it comes from those who say they love us.
READ IF YOU LIKE...
• Dissecting gender roles and problematic portrayals of women
• Effective use of magical realism
• Slice-of-life vibes
I THOUGHT IT WAS...
A fantastical take on the journey a woman takes to hold her husband accountable. Nowatari Tetsuya is a respected writer with a problem. His wife, Rui, has swallowed a bowl of seeds and become a slowly thickening forest all over the second story of their house. Faced with an inability to write his next manuscript, he's forced to step into the forest and confront what awaits him there.
I was impressed by how Ayase took this outrageous-sounding premise and set it up so diligently that by the time we reach it, we understand exactly why it's necessary. Most of the book actually doesn't center the Nowataris. It briefly follows the lives of those who interact with them, but through those people and their thoughts, we start to explore the ubiquitous problems of how men perceive women and get a glimpse of who Tetsuya really is.
All of this leads to the final confrontation between Tetsuya and Rui. While a bit heavy-handed toward the end, it's both heartening and heartbreaking to see the earnestness with which Rui approaches realizations about herself and her husband. This slim novel is a reminder that we should never tolerate those who try to diminish us, especially if it comes from those who say they love us.
December 29, 2023
3.5! This book had me until the last chapter, which didn't really tie up the book the way I was expecting. It's five chapters each from a different POV, and given that the last POV is the wife who ate the seeds and grew the forest, this could've been SUCH a cool ending.
I don't know, had some interesting elements but didn't stick the landing. Would be super curious what other people think, since this book is very short.
I don't know, had some interesting elements but didn't stick the landing. Would be super curious what other people think, since this book is very short.
May 22, 2025
3.5⭐️
Molto bello e riflessivo.
parla di incomunicabilità tra partner, della differente percezione che si ha della vita in base all'essere donna e uomo nella società, di come il punto di vista femminile è sempre, molto spesso, silenziato e non preso in considerazione; di come questa incomunicabilità provenga da chi minimizza e banalizza le sensibilità e le soggettività femminili.
A tratti, per il tema della natura che si interseca con la tematica principale descritta sopra, mi ha ricordato "La vegetariana" di Han Kang, anche se andando avanti il romanzo prende una piega decisamente diversa.
Molto bello e riflessivo.
parla di incomunicabilità tra partner, della differente percezione che si ha della vita in base all'essere donna e uomo nella società, di come il punto di vista femminile è sempre, molto spesso, silenziato e non preso in considerazione; di come questa incomunicabilità provenga da chi minimizza e banalizza le sensibilità e le soggettività femminili.
A tratti, per il tema della natura che si interseca con la tematica principale descritta sopra, mi ha ricordato "La vegetariana" di Han Kang, anche se andando avanti il romanzo prende una piega decisamente diversa.
April 12, 2025
I’m at a much too chaotic month in my life to start to pick apart if I agree with this book or not — the feminist statements, the gender commentary, whether or not it resembles my life (it probably does) and what that could mean.
I’ll read it again someday. I’m giving it 5 stars so I know to purchase it so I can annotate it with my thoughts when I have more free brainpower.
It’s cut up into 5 chapters, each with a changing pov about how different characters relate and feel to the exploitation of Rui, the wife and muse of her writer husband.
I’ll read it again someday. I’m giving it 5 stars so I know to purchase it so I can annotate it with my thoughts when I have more free brainpower.
It’s cut up into 5 chapters, each with a changing pov about how different characters relate and feel to the exploitation of Rui, the wife and muse of her writer husband.
Read
May 9, 20253.5 — A unique, surreal little novel with a lot of nature imagery that made for a nice springtime read.
A woman getting angry with her writer husband and turning herself into a forest is just the backdrop here, acting as a catalyst for differing perspectives and considerations on gender roles in relationships and of women as a subject in literature. I liked it.
Next time I’m upset about anything catch me sprouting cherries and ferns instead of going back and forth with anyone.
A woman getting angry with her writer husband and turning herself into a forest is just the backdrop here, acting as a catalyst for differing perspectives and considerations on gender roles in relationships and of women as a subject in literature. I liked it.
Next time I’m upset about anything catch me sprouting cherries and ferns instead of going back and forth with anyone.
December 2, 2023
Read for a Book Club - took 4 and a half hours to finish - 194 pages.
Written by a woman (Maru Ayase) in Japanese; Translated by a man (Haydn Trowell) to English - he "is an Australian literary translator of modern and contemporary Japanese fiction."
The Forest Brims Over cover bothers me ... a lot. I hate when the covers not only don't match what is inside, but actively contradicts information in the story - in this case, When advertising doesn't match product (and covers advertise books), I always take off a star.
Moving onto the story itself, even after a night's reflection, I'm still not sure if I liked or disliked the book. Most of the concepts presented I'm familiar with, but I can see the Japanese culture still working their way through these issues, after all American society is regressing on them as I write in 2023.
For example, both why I am well-familiar with the aspects of this story and why I'm not sure I like or dislike it, is a line on page 20 - "…she found it impossible to strike a balance between HER childcare and professional duties." (capitalization for emphasis is mine) The housekeeping, childrearing, and being a professional so the family could have a second income, all fell on the wife (for this vignette of the novel, the wife is Akiko). She couldn't find a balance because her husband did absolutely nothing for the house or children. When she later complains about the new job she had to take with a smaller commute and less hours - but the position is still involved enough she is bringing work home to be done after cooking dinner and putting the kids to bed, the husband says she has no right to complain because she wanted the flexibility for the kids ... and that is a "luxury" for her.
There are five segments to the novel - basically five interconnected novellas. The theme of the "novel" is an exploration of misogyny in the Japanese culture.
All the stories (and Rui's forest is the only one with Magic Realis) are about how women define themselves in relation to men based on the previous generation's advice (necessary for survival as recent as 20-40 years ago), then the more modern women realizing that without communication and support they are better off without men. Why do all the work for the family AND additional work for the adult male? Their stories are about figuring ways to escape the relationship and the impact of the escape on people who used to be in the relationship.
For those vignettes where POV focus switches to the male characters, it show how the toxic and stifling the lack of communication and empathy expected of the Japanese men destroys their dreams and happiness.
I expect the conversation to be lively in the book club.
Comments from the editing side of me:
1. This is a literary work and is very heavy on the "to be" verbs.
2. I wish I could have as much personal attention to give to my writers as depicted in this manuscript; I would love to spend (PAID) hours just talking with them. The individual attention really is what makes The Forest Brims Over a fictional piece in my opinion.
(Book is checked out through the local library)
Written by a woman (Maru Ayase) in Japanese; Translated by a man (Haydn Trowell) to English - he "is an Australian literary translator of modern and contemporary Japanese fiction."
The Forest Brims Over cover bothers me ... a lot. I hate when the covers not only don't match what is inside, but actively contradicts information in the story - in this case, When advertising doesn't match product (and covers advertise books), I always take off a star.
Moving onto the story itself, even after a night's reflection, I'm still not sure if I liked or disliked the book. Most of the concepts presented I'm familiar with, but I can see the Japanese culture still working their way through these issues, after all American society is regressing on them as I write in 2023.
For example, both why I am well-familiar with the aspects of this story and why I'm not sure I like or dislike it, is a line on page 20 - "…she found it impossible to strike a balance between HER childcare and professional duties." (capitalization for emphasis is mine) The housekeeping, childrearing, and being a professional so the family could have a second income, all fell on the wife (for this vignette of the novel, the wife is Akiko). She couldn't find a balance because her husband did absolutely nothing for the house or children. When she later complains about the new job she had to take with a smaller commute and less hours - but the position is still involved enough she is bringing work home to be done after cooking dinner and putting the kids to bed, the husband says she has no right to complain because she wanted the flexibility for the kids ... and that is a "luxury" for her.
There are five segments to the novel - basically five interconnected novellas. The theme of the "novel" is an exploration of misogyny in the Japanese culture.
All the stories (and Rui's forest is the only one with Magic Realis) are about how women define themselves in relation to men based on the previous generation's advice (necessary for survival as recent as 20-40 years ago), then the more modern women realizing that without communication and support they are better off without men. Why do all the work for the family AND additional work for the adult male? Their stories are about figuring ways to escape the relationship and the impact of the escape on people who used to be in the relationship.
For those vignettes where POV focus switches to the male characters, it show how the toxic and stifling the lack of communication and empathy expected of the Japanese men destroys their dreams and happiness.
I expect the conversation to be lively in the book club.
Comments from the editing side of me:
1. This is a literary work and is very heavy on the "to be" verbs.
2. I wish I could have as much personal attention to give to my writers as depicted in this manuscript; I would love to spend (PAID) hours just talking with them. The individual attention really is what makes The Forest Brims Over a fictional piece in my opinion.
(Book is checked out through the local library)
January 1, 2025
Il libro mi è piaciuto? Sì e no. Parto col dire che secondo me questo è un libro "molto giapponese" (un saluto a Stanis LaRochelle). Perché? Questo tipo di scrittura, con molta alea, che si concentra a volte su dettagli che sembrano irrilevanti, mi sembra una cifra stilistica sia della cinematografia che della letteratura giapponese, e devo dire che mi è sempre piaciuta. La scelta di narrare la vicenda da più POV l'ho trovata vincente per la maggior parte del libro.
Lo definirei un libro estremamente femminista, perché è chiaro che il tema portante sia la lotta alla misoginia. Più leggo, più studio il Giappone, e più mi faccio convinta che la misoginia e la rigida separazione tra i ruoli di genere per loro sia un problema ancora estremamente importante a livello culturale. Una delle parti che mi è piaciuta di più, infatti, è la diversa importanza che viene data allo stesso tipo di lavoro se sei una donna o se sei un uomo. L'editor dello scrittore Nowatari ha un'immagine di sé e viene percepito dalla società in maniera molto precisa, ma quando si allontana e viene sostituito da una collega donna capiamo subito che lei deve fare il doppio del lavoro e che il marito la considera qualcuna che "si diverte" e pensa a cose leggere, svalutando nella maniera più assoluta il suo operato. Su questo, penso che il romanzo colga perfettamente il punto.
L'ultima parte per me è la più debole, probabilmente perché l'ho trovata estremamente didascalica, ma anche qui credo che debba inserire un filtro "culturale" per capire meglio la situazione. Evidentemente c'è bisogno di questo tipo di narrazione in Giappone, e questo tipo di ribellione che forse io considero "blanda" è molto più rivoluzionaria dal punto di vista dell'autrice e di un lettore asiatico.
Lo definirei un libro estremamente femminista, perché è chiaro che il tema portante sia la lotta alla misoginia. Più leggo, più studio il Giappone, e più mi faccio convinta che la misoginia e la rigida separazione tra i ruoli di genere per loro sia un problema ancora estremamente importante a livello culturale. Una delle parti che mi è piaciuta di più, infatti, è la diversa importanza che viene data allo stesso tipo di lavoro se sei una donna o se sei un uomo. L'editor dello scrittore Nowatari ha un'immagine di sé e viene percepito dalla società in maniera molto precisa, ma quando si allontana e viene sostituito da una collega donna capiamo subito che lei deve fare il doppio del lavoro e che il marito la considera qualcuna che "si diverte" e pensa a cose leggere, svalutando nella maniera più assoluta il suo operato. Su questo, penso che il romanzo colga perfettamente il punto.
L'ultima parte per me è la più debole, probabilmente perché l'ho trovata estremamente didascalica, ma anche qui credo che debba inserire un filtro "culturale" per capire meglio la situazione. Evidentemente c'è bisogno di questo tipo di narrazione in Giappone, e questo tipo di ribellione che forse io considero "blanda" è molto più rivoluzionaria dal punto di vista dell'autrice e di un lettore asiatico.
November 13, 2023
un filo conduttore che lega realismo magico e la cruda realtà della società giapponese odierna (e non solo)
tramite immagini evocative e paradisiache, si legge fra le righe un messaggio scomodo e ben visibile all’occhio del lettore
un messaggio pesante quanto un pugno nello stomaco
ma un messaggio reale, esistente
si parla di incomunicabilità in una coppia, di come la disattenzione distrugge l’amore e il cuore delle persone
parla di una donna che si è persa per intrattenere il suo, di amore.
una donna che si è annullata nel mondo umano e dunque viene accolta nel mondo vegetale, diventando un tutt’uno con le piante e la natura stessa
parla del ruolo della donna, costantemente schiacciato e imposto da ‘altri’
ma parla anche di uomini; uomini sensibili e uomini-non-uomini.
in meno di 200 pagine, ‘la foresta trabocca’, ha fatto ‘traboccare’ in me un’amore sconfinato per questa prosa tanto delicata quanto cruda.
ho amato tutto di questi libro, sicuramente uno dei migliori letti quest’anno.
tramite immagini evocative e paradisiache, si legge fra le righe un messaggio scomodo e ben visibile all’occhio del lettore
un messaggio pesante quanto un pugno nello stomaco
ma un messaggio reale, esistente
si parla di incomunicabilità in una coppia, di come la disattenzione distrugge l’amore e il cuore delle persone
parla di una donna che si è persa per intrattenere il suo, di amore.
una donna che si è annullata nel mondo umano e dunque viene accolta nel mondo vegetale, diventando un tutt’uno con le piante e la natura stessa
parla del ruolo della donna, costantemente schiacciato e imposto da ‘altri’
ma parla anche di uomini; uomini sensibili e uomini-non-uomini.
in meno di 200 pagine, ‘la foresta trabocca’, ha fatto ‘traboccare’ in me un’amore sconfinato per questa prosa tanto delicata quanto cruda.
ho amato tutto di questi libro, sicuramente uno dei migliori letti quest’anno.
April 25, 2024
I really enjoyed the first half or two-thirds of this book, but it all came crumbling down at the end. Unfortunately, I think this book would be much better to read in it's native tongue, as I suspect a lot of nuance got lost in translation. Some descriptions were really lovely, but the end felt heavy-handed and lacked the delicacy of the earlier chapters. Sad to say this didn't win me over more.
August 15, 2023
3.5 🌟
I need more female RAGE
I need more female RAGE
September 20, 2023
I loved the first 50-75% of this…felt fresh, original, poetic, weird. Then the end became convoluted and left me feeling meh. What a strange read.
October 6, 2023
Maru Ayase's The Forest Brims Over is a lush yet concise look at gender dynamics in marriage, domesticity, love, and consent. Told in a mere 194 pages, this is the type of story that will haunt you, in more ways than one.
Maru Ayase has published eighteen books, many of which have been finalists for major awards in Japan. The Forest Brims Over is her first title to be translated into English. Haydn Trowell is an Australian literary translator of modern and contemporary Japanese fiction. His translations include Love at Six Thousand Degrees by Maki Kashimada and the forthcoming title The Rainbow by Yasunari Kawabata.
Nowatari Rui has long been the subject of her husband's novels, depicted as a pure woman who takes great pleasure in sex. With her privacy and identity continually stripped away, she has come to be seen by society first and foremost as the inspiration for her husband's art. When a decade's worth of frustrations reaches its boiling point, Rui consumes a bowl of seeds, and buds and roots begin to sprout all over her body. Instead of taking her to a hospital, her husband keeps her in an aquaterrarium, set to compose a new novel based on this unsettling experience. But Rui grows at a rapid pace and soon breaks away from her husband by turning into a forest—and in time, she takes over the entire city. As fantasy and reality bleed together, The Forest Brims Over challenges unconscious gender biases and explores the boundaries between art and exploitation—muse abuse—in the literary world.
The premise of this book is what sold me—a woman, her husband's muse, turns into a forest that overtakes the city—but it delivered on more than just that count. I was immediately intrigued by how the story was about Rui but, like all of her husband's novels that were also about her, the story wasn't written by her. Instead, The Forest Brims Over is narrated by her husband's editor, one of his students, another editor, until finally Rui and Tetsuya share from their own points of view. Right off the bat, you can tell that it's a statement about who has the power, ability, insight to tell our stories, and I just loved that. Ayase wastes no time making her point in this regard.
I was very excited to see the transformation, and the way Rui was going to take over the city, and how her forestation would impact the other characters in the novel. Unfortunately, this isn't the focal point of the point; rather, Ayase focuses more on examining gender dynamics in marriage, the roles of men and women, and muse abuse in the literary world. I also felt a little lost sometimes in this philosophizing (especially near the end), but I knew that if I'd annotated this book and really engaged with it at a sentence level (rather than a broader level), I would have really felt the brilliance of it all coming together. While the magical realism elements are there, Rui's turning into a forest is less of a focus because it's more of the bouncing off point for these conversations to be had. Ayase does, of course, lean into beautiful, melodic language, and the book feels like it's overtaking you the same way Rui's forest does, so despite the magical realism not being at the forefront, it's always lurking and impacting the read.
I definitely would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick read, and one that has a philosophical bend with an intriguing ending!
*This review can also be found on my blog, toreadornottoreadnm.blogspot.com*
Maru Ayase has published eighteen books, many of which have been finalists for major awards in Japan. The Forest Brims Over is her first title to be translated into English. Haydn Trowell is an Australian literary translator of modern and contemporary Japanese fiction. His translations include Love at Six Thousand Degrees by Maki Kashimada and the forthcoming title The Rainbow by Yasunari Kawabata.
Nowatari Rui has long been the subject of her husband's novels, depicted as a pure woman who takes great pleasure in sex. With her privacy and identity continually stripped away, she has come to be seen by society first and foremost as the inspiration for her husband's art. When a decade's worth of frustrations reaches its boiling point, Rui consumes a bowl of seeds, and buds and roots begin to sprout all over her body. Instead of taking her to a hospital, her husband keeps her in an aquaterrarium, set to compose a new novel based on this unsettling experience. But Rui grows at a rapid pace and soon breaks away from her husband by turning into a forest—and in time, she takes over the entire city. As fantasy and reality bleed together, The Forest Brims Over challenges unconscious gender biases and explores the boundaries between art and exploitation—muse abuse—in the literary world.
The premise of this book is what sold me—a woman, her husband's muse, turns into a forest that overtakes the city—but it delivered on more than just that count. I was immediately intrigued by how the story was about Rui but, like all of her husband's novels that were also about her, the story wasn't written by her. Instead, The Forest Brims Over is narrated by her husband's editor, one of his students, another editor, until finally Rui and Tetsuya share from their own points of view. Right off the bat, you can tell that it's a statement about who has the power, ability, insight to tell our stories, and I just loved that. Ayase wastes no time making her point in this regard.
I was very excited to see the transformation, and the way Rui was going to take over the city, and how her forestation would impact the other characters in the novel. Unfortunately, this isn't the focal point of the point; rather, Ayase focuses more on examining gender dynamics in marriage, the roles of men and women, and muse abuse in the literary world. I also felt a little lost sometimes in this philosophizing (especially near the end), but I knew that if I'd annotated this book and really engaged with it at a sentence level (rather than a broader level), I would have really felt the brilliance of it all coming together. While the magical realism elements are there, Rui's turning into a forest is less of a focus because it's more of the bouncing off point for these conversations to be had. Ayase does, of course, lean into beautiful, melodic language, and the book feels like it's overtaking you the same way Rui's forest does, so despite the magical realism not being at the forefront, it's always lurking and impacting the read.
I definitely would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick read, and one that has a philosophical bend with an intriguing ending!
*This review can also be found on my blog, toreadornottoreadnm.blogspot.com*
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