Sunrise

Thank you to NetGalley, Astra House, and the author for an eARC of this anthology.

Sunrise is a collection of short stories with a focus on nuclear energy and it's effect on generations of Japanese women. Each of them is wonderful in itself, but I really appreciated the small connecting elements. Some of them are realistic, some magical, the writing style made to fit each individual one, from strictly factual to poetic.

Overall, a wonderful read. I really enjoyed reading the translator's note as well - I'm the type of reader who will have an existential crisis about not understanding what the author truly meant because I don't speak their language and ideas are hard to translate, so notes like this make me a little more trusting towards the translation.

I really enjoyed this, I think I liked it even more than 'Trinity, Trinity, Trinity'. The stories were really clever and so deep on reflection. The translators post book piece was really useful and something that really drew the book together for me. An amazing book for everyone, not just those interested in nuclear fall out etc, the stories are engdgongcfotcl audiences.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC
In these interconnected stories, Kobayashi acquaints the reader to a feminist experience of the effects of nuclear power, its origin, its journey through history and its ramifications in modern-day society. Fires of symbolic and literal nature burn in the protagonists’ worlds igniting forth anger, and remorse, but also warmth and light never being able to put out of its radiance.
Sunrise dabbles with the horrors and effects of forces beyond our control. One such force deeply explored, is the effects of nuclear power specifically on women. Using elements such as fire and its offspring light and heat in its physical representations of all things that glitter and shine but also those that melt and burn, Kobayashi examines the birth of nuclear energy at the centre of the sun, and this naturally existing energy harnessed and weaponised through history, destroying humanity. These stories look at its everlasting effects on women who experienced Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings firsts-hand, the human experience of which inherited by their daughters, who in turn pass it down to the next generation, both knowingly and unknowingly.
Using ordinary lives of invisible Japanese women, and juxtaposing them with big historical facts and events, Kobayashi employs a unique technique in her storytelling giving visibility and attention to their invisibility.
Magical realism, folktales and myth are all interwoven giving ordinary women’s lives a bizarre and tragic twist. Time jumps back and forth between the past present and future creating a sense of restlessness and apprehension. Appearing calm and detached even, on the surface these women adroitly mask their fears, anger, and anxiety. Being on the receiving end of catastrophes engineered by men such as the war and its aftermath, their right to sexuality, pregnancy, and birth are constantly endangered.
As the title suggests, these are radiant stories where the luminosity is represented as a consequence, as an aftermath, and thus doesn’t hold an entirely positive connotation other than giving visibility – something has to burn, destroy itself, in order to give light.
A note of appreciation to Brian Bergstrom for his brilliant translation without which these important stories would have not reached a wider audience. Bergstrom deftly captures the mood of the stories, and his afterword certainly adds to its weight as well as offers the reader in understanding the intent of the author and his own in translating her works.

With Erika Kobayashi, you never really know what to expect; the world she builds and the unraveling of her stories are always ones that keep me on my toes. Saying that it must also be said that you can either love it or be confused by it.

This collection of short stories focuses on intergenerational Japanese women in connection to nuclear power, themes that have been present in other works by this author. The feminist lens Kobayashi uses is important in detailing the ramifications of nuclear power on women in Japan.

Using real-world themes as well as magical realism, the story crafted is one that spans decades, crossing years to explore the aftermath of a world left to crumble under the weight of patriarchy.

Always a good time, interesting and timeless, if not sometimes uncanny.

Thank you Netgalley an Astra House for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent and truly radiation short stories by Trinity, Trinity, Trinity author Erika Kobayashi. All things nuclear told from a female perspective, I was especially impressed with the story Precious Stones.

This really is an excellent short story collection and Erika Kobayashi is climbing the ranks of the best Japanese writers working today.

“This is ‘Welcome to New York,’ by Taylor Swift, from her album 1989.” 1989, the year Taylor Swift was born. The year the Showa Emperor died. The year I met Quartz.
Already twenty‑seven years ago.

Thank you, NetGalley and Astra Publishing House, for the chance to read and review Sunrise by Erika Kobayashi. Sunrise comes out on the 11th of July and is 242 pages long.

Sunrise is a series of interrelated narratives that explores the impact of nuclear power on women across generations. The stories include phenomena such as people growing wings, the burning of last books, radioactive springs, and a degenerative illness that affects the mind initially.

Kobayashi blends magical realism, folklore, and science fiction to create stories that cannot be found elsewhere. Each story bleeds into the other, with stories with a story, a style that I really appreciated.

I understand for the first time that to die is to lose the ability to meet another’s gaze.

Wow!! Erika Kobayashi works magic. What a powerful voice and an incredible collection of short stories!

These 11 stories explore the impact of atomic power on Japanese society, specifically on women through the generations. And I was blown away by the depth and layers in each story! Kobayashi effortlessly mixes and moves through genres and uses powerful metaphors. There’s the history, science and social commentary you’d expect, but there’s also elements of magical realism, folklore and sci-fi. And it’s all incredibly atmospheric. Through it all, you never lose touch with the subject matter.

Sure, I learned about the nuclear age in school. But it honestly felt so far removed from my life, something that never personally touched me. Kobayashi brought that all to the forefront for me. She makes it real and close to home, giving these invisible things visibility (as she has said herself). I started asking questions and looking things up. How are there so much details I’m unaware of? I really couldn’t believe it.

‘Shedding’ was my favorite in the collection. People begin to catch a mysterious virus that takes away their ability to use and understand language. I could feel the tension, anticipation, panic and terror in my soul. I saw so many of my own fears, struggles and insecurities in ‘Shedding.’ It made me cry.

But really, there’s nothing I could possibly say about Kobayashi’s mastery that translator Brian Bergstrom hasn’t already said. His note at the end of the book is perfect. He has such a deep understanding of Kobayashi’s art and it shows on every page.

Absolutely in awe of both Kobayashi and Bergstrom! This is a book that needs to live on your shelf because these stories are meant to be re-read. I have no doubt they will reveal something new each time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Astra Publishing House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review

For me who loves short stories collection, i will say this had some unique and interesting collection with themes of aftereffects of nuclear was the tie to the stories in here. With constant theme of war aftereffects and how it affects the generation of women was both saddening and intriguing to read. There are some stories that I felt very clever as it tackles more on the generations and then there are elements of folk tale, horror and contemporary feels to them. There is one story that left me a bit confused bcus the style of writing was harder to read.

Overall, it was a fascinating collection that challenges my perspective of storytelling and one that will requires a reread from me to fully embrace the uniqueness.

I took my time reading those short stories, but I'm absolutely in love with Kobayashi Erika's works. She mixes the history of radioactivity with feminism and the view of the life of women throughout generations in Japan. She brings in metaphers from different countries myths (e.g. Prometheus, Icarus) to symbolize radioactivity and it's history also in Japan. She integrates fertility (issues) and the period into her works, which I also do not often see in Japanese works. I would call this book feministic and I am happy to have stumbled across it, since I feel like feministic books from Japanese authors are quite seldom still.
My favourite stories are probably 'Sunrise', 'See' and 'The flying Tobita sisters'.

Overall: 4/5

And this is the reason why I love compilations of short stories, is like a satisfactory box of snacks with a little bit of everything one likes to munch. Erika Kobayashi, writes in a way that makes us come back for more, and I did enjoy through and through all of the stories of this book, and we really feel the Japanese reality coming to the surface in this book, women are so important to the continuity of life that they are the main character of this book, they are the ones that bring life to the next generation, even if there is a father, the blood of the mother is what is important in the end, at least that is what I take with me.

I really recommend this book for everyone that likes short stories, Japanese authors and feminist themes.

Thank you NetGalley and Astra Publishing House, Astra House, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.