Kirino's retelling is a taut, disturbing and timeless tale, filled with rage and pathos for the battles that women have to fight every day, battles which have, apparently, existed from the moment of creation -- TAN TWAN ENG * * Guardian * *
Daring and disturbing . . . [Kirino is] prepared to push the human limits of this world . . . Remarkable * * Los Angeles Times * *
Lyrical, with an impelling storyline that demands attention . . . a compelling tale, with foundations in an allegory-rich fable that more than deserves its rejuvenation * * Independent on Sunday * *
A dark and lovely feminist retelling of the Japanese creation myth * * NPR * *
Enthralling . . . In telling Namima's story, the author reworks the ancient tale of Izanami and Izanaki into one of female solidarity and determined strength . . . Natsuo Kirino eloquently reveals that far from being the weaker sex, women shoulder responsibilities that men are not strong enough to bear * * Washington Independent Review of Books * *
An eerie tale of joy and sorrow, light and darkness, love and vengeance . . . Dark and elemental, it's the perfect kind of tale for Kirino's pen . . . a tantalising introduction to an unfamiliar creation myth * * The Idle Woman * *
In her wildly far-reaching tale of relations between gods and men, men and women, life and death, darkness and light, Natsuo Kirino tells a peripatetic, global, and truly satisfying love story of how it is to be human -- STELLA DUFFY
It is one of the most unexpected and playful novels to emerge from Japan in recent years . . . a triumph. In its boldness and originality, it broadens our sense of what modern Japanese fiction can be * * Telegraph on Real World * *
Be prepared for a book utterly unlike anything we are used to in crime fiction * * Independent on Real World * *
Got my heart beating * * Daily Telegraph on Out * *