Autofiction by Hitomi Kanehara

Hitomi Kanehara has a confidence in her writing that belies her years. After dropping out of school aged 11 and leaving home as a teenager, Kanehara sent her stories via email to her literary translator father who aided her in the editing process. The outcome was the release of her first book, Snakes and Earrings, which won her the coveted Akutagawa Prize at the age of 21. Auto Fiction, her second work to be published in English, takes the reader backwards through the life of a girl called Rin, giving some reasoning for her emotional instability and her intense need to be loved. Kanehara unravels the story, a dark and affecting Tokyo-set tale, with amazing fluidity, drawing the reader into the turbulent past of this troubled young woman. The story is less about the events that occur and more about how they shape the main character. The setting may be bleak and adolescent, but the elegant and powerful narrative makes it easy to see why Kanehara has won such critical acclaim. Auto Fiction is a harsh but touching tale, and it is utterly impossible to put down - there's no escaping the fact that, even in translation, Kanehara's gritty and honest prose will get under your skin. [Rebecca Isherwood]