In 2023 I was introduced to Natsuko Imamura through her book The Woman in the Purple Skirt. I was so pleased to meet her (Imamura, that is), and so I was excited to learn that she had a new release on the way this year. Enter Asa: The Girl Who Turned into a Pair of Chopsticks. A collection of three stories brought together in this gem of a book, each story is its own curious rollercoaster of fiction. You don’t know what the next sentence is going to bring, but you can be assured it’s going to be intriguing, bizarre and captivating.

In the title story, Asa spends much of her childhood unable to share food with anyone. Once she turns into a pair of chopsticks, she and her household item counterparts find their purpose in life. I didn’t see the end of this story coming, but now that I know, it was the only way it could go.

‘Nami, Who Wanted to Get Hit (and Eventually Succeeded)’, tells the story of Nami, who mysteriously evades being hit by airborne items, no matter what is thrown her way. She decides to take things into her own hands, quite literally, which changes the trajectory of her life in heartbreaking ways. This story twists and turns, and you can’t help but feel relief for Nami when she finally does get hit.

‘A Night to Remember’ is certainly a story I will remember. Happy’s aim in life is to do nothing and laze about, to the extent that she gives up walking and instead begins dragging herself around. One day she flees her house after an argument with her father, which sets off a series of events that will re-shape her perspective and her life.

I devoured this book. I had no idea how each story was going to go and I loved that experience.