The Boy in the Earth

By: Fuminori Nakamura

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

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.

©2005 Fuminori Nakamura; 2017 Translation by Allison Markin Powell (P)2017 Recorded Books

a story of hope out of despair

beautiful. nakamura tells us the story of a misfit, of a person so tormented and tortured by violence, and how despite all the violence, he is still good. he still has goodness in him.