The Boy in the Earth, Fuminori Nakamura
The Boy in the Earth, Fuminori Nakamura
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The Boy in the Earth

Author: Fuminori Nakamura

Narrator: Brian Nishii

Unabridged: 2 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 04/25/2017


Synopsis

Fuminori Nakamura's Akutagawa Prize-winner plunges us into the depths of a young man's winding, troubled psyche. An unnamed taxi driver in Tokyo has experienced a rupture in his everyday life. He cannot stop daydreaming of suicide, envisioning himself returning to the earth in what soon become terrifying blackout episodes. His live-in girlfriend, Sayuko, is in a similarly bad phase, surrendering to alcoholism to escape the memory of her miscarriage. He meets with the director of the orphanage where he once lived, and must confront awful memories of his past and an abusive family before determining what to do next.

About Fuminori Nakamura

Fuminori Nakamura has won numerous prizes for his writing, including Japan’s prestigious ÅŒe Prize; the David L. Goodis Award for Noir Fiction; and the Akutagawa Prize. The Thief, his first novel to be translated into English, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His other novels include Cult X, The Gun, The Kingdom, Evil and the Mask, The Boy in the Earth, My Annihilation, and Last Winter, We Parted. He was born in 1977 and graduated from Fukushima University in 2000.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tim on May 18, 2020

"Hey Tim," I say to myself. "You've been reading a lot of horror recently. Maybe you should read something else for a bit." "Well Self," I reply to myself as it would be rude of me to not answer. "You may be right. What should I read?" "How about some Nakamura? You discovered him last year and pretty......more

Goodreads review by Viv on May 07, 2018

Wow, this really was the darkest of noir and yet utterly compelling and not without hope (I think!) The protagonist is a Tokyo taxi driver with seemingly self destructive tendencies. The book opens with him throwing a cigarette butt into a group of bikers who then proceed to beat him to a pulp, and t......more

Goodreads review by Shane on April 24, 2017

Wow. No question five star read. Super super dark noir tale. I have no words. Well, I actually have a lot of words but the review hasn't been published yet so just wanted to give it a quick signal boost in the meantime. Brilliant author, brilliant book. Read it!......more

Goodreads review by Jill on February 28, 2017

While I have a higher tolerance than most so-called for “dark” books that are unsettling and even disturbing, I am not a huge fan of noir fiction – characterized by cynicism and fatalism. I suppose that’s because noir fiction usually pre-supposes that the world is filled with justifiable heavy dread......more

Goodreads review by Pattie on August 22, 2018

"The Boy In The Earth", told mainly through internal dialogue with a touch of noir, is a powerful novel on childhood abuse and trying to survive the aftermath. Lonely and isolated, even though he is in a relationship, the protagonist puts himself in dangerous situations and contemplates suicide. Onl......more