Slow Boat

Furukawa’s playful short novel consists of nine chapters called boats, which can easily stand alone as short stories. The first-person narrator is a hapless everyman, baffled by society’s conventions, technology, and the mysteries of the heart. “I’ve never made it out of Tokyo,” he declares by way of introducing his failings to the reader, and goes on to share details of failed romances or near-romances going back nearly 20 years to the fifth grade. At 19, he has an unexciting but steady girlfriend, but he messes up the relationship through a fling with a coworker, a slightly older security guard. The narrator’s third girlfriend is arguably the most significant; that relationship ends in a spectacular and hilarious way. The boats are broken up by short, quirky sections called chronicles. Each begins with a concise paragraph of memorable events from the chosen year (2000 lists a Japanese gold medalist in the Sydney Olympics and a possible rapprochement between North and South Korea). The lively imagination and yearning of the protagonist, as well as his amiable first-person narration, have echoes of Japanese literary giant Haruki Murakami, a generation older than Furukawa. In this refreshing book, Furukawa proves to be an imaginative and captivating storyteller. (June)