"Snakes and Earrings", by Hitomi Kanehara, trans. David James Karashima; "Innocent World", by Ami Sakurai, trans Steven Clark; "Vibrator", by Mari Akasaka trans Michael Emmerich
Independent: Sex and the Japanese city
They call them the "lost generation". Japan's troubled youths provoke more headlines and hand-wringing from pundits than a streetload of Asbo yobs. Now three publishers have released Japanese novellas that claim to tell it how it is, from young female authors with "shocking" tales of urban despair. But you won't find gunfights, addiction or so much as a burning wheelie bin in these breathless accounts. Urban disaffection, Tokyo-style, is nothing if not erotic. Sex and shopping are the main outlets of rebellion, the former usually transacted to fund the latter...more...
