Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada (transl. David Boyd): A tale of three dinners

Cover image for Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko OyamadaIโ€™d not read any Japanese fiction for quite some time when I spotted Hiroko Oyamadaโ€™s eye-catchingly titled Weasels in the Attic on NetGalley and liked the sound of it. Billed as a novel, it reads more like closely linked short stories in which a middle-aged man recounts three separate meals shared with his best friend, each momentous in its own way.

Our unnamed narrator is surprised to get a call from Saiki about the death of a mutual friend, more Saikiโ€™s than his. Urabe was the child of a family rich enough to indulge his passion, setting him up with his own shop selling tropical fish. Our narrator recalls a strange evening when theyโ€™d visited Urabe, still living in the shop long since closed down, and were introduced to his new baby and her surprisingly young mother who seemed too eager to do Urabeโ€™s bidding. Sometime later, now married to Yoko and living in a rackety house in the countryside infested with weasels, Saiki invites our narrator to dinner with his wife who comes up with a disturbing solution to the weasel problem and makes a new friend. The third dinner sees Saiki and Yoko introducing their new daughter to our narrator and his wife who find themselves snowed in, staying a restless night in an aquarium filled room, haunted by strange dreams. The next day our narrator is told news so good he can scarcely believe it.

We like to tell ourselves itโ€™s love, that weโ€™re choosing our partners. But in reality weโ€™re just playing the cards weโ€™ve been dealtย 

Weighing in at a mere eighty pages with a good deal of white space included, Weasels in the Attic is the shortest book Iโ€™ve read in quite a while but it makes up for that with its striking images. Oyamada contrasts the new and old Japan, ageing, attitudes to women and masculinity through three occasions which see Saiki change from an urban male, none too inquiring about Urabeโ€™s relationship with a subservient woman two decades his junior, to a considerate husband, father and neighbour. Meanwhile our narrator and his wife quietly struggle with the aching sadness of involuntary childlessness. Much is left unsaid between Saiki and the narrator who seems often puzzled by his friendโ€™s behaviour while his wife and Yoko become close friends, almost without him realising it. I enjoyed these understated stories with their touch of the surreal and occasional flashes of humour. Keen to read more by Oyamda who I see has two other titles to explore.

Granta Books: London 9781783789757 80 pages Hardback (read via Netgalley)

19 thoughts on “Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada (transl. David Boyd): A tale of three dinners”

  1. Klausbernd Vollmar

    Thanks for mentioning this book. You made us curious. We ordered it.
    Have a happy November
    The Fab Four of Cley
    ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. This sounds excellent, I like the linked short story structure. I have read a little Japanese literature but really not enough. A great inclusion to novellas in November.

  3. This sounds like the kind of novel I would enjoy – quiet, understated, plenty of ‘space’ for the reader to bring their own interpretation to the story – and a great cover, too. I’ve made a mental note.

  4. Pingback: Novellas in November 2022: New to my TBR – The Intrepid Arkansawyer

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