Thanks to Verso Books and NetGalley for the E-ARC!
As a reader who enjoyed Suzuki's writing in 'Terminal Boredom', I was excited to learn that her debut novel would be translated and published this year. I was even more excited when I received the ARC.
The novel is set in the depths of the 1970s Tokyo music scene and tells the story of Izumi's 20s and 30s, navigating addiction, herself, and horrible men. I expected more of an idealized tale of a musician's muse and was blindsided by the saddening, traumatic turn in Izumi's life. Suzuki's writing has a somewhat apathetic nature, which becomes especially apparent in this book and makes it somewhat difficult to fully empathize with the protagonist. Yet it also makes so much sense as it gives the character this disconnected voice in light of the pain in her life.
I think it is important to also keep in mind that this is a product of the 1970s and an author who not only shared her first name with the protagonist but whose life ran in parallel, full of tragedy and turmoil.
All of this led me to give this book a 4-star rating, although the writing may not be amazing. Izumi Suzuki fascinates me more with every bit of her writing I read and the lore I learn about her.

A coming-of-age novel with added sex, drugs and rock'n'roll

When you're in your early twenties, you're trying on personas and seeing what fits, testing the limits of what you can achieve as a new adult, the things you want to do, can do and can't do. In her debut novel, Suzuki writes of her contemporaneous world, of the 1970s Japanese c0unterculture, the little spaces between the tradition of Japan and its twentieth century reaction to the West, a world made in the gaps and the shadows, of sex and drugs and rock'n'roll. The narrator, also called Izuki, is an all too knowing young woman, eager for the touch of men to assuage her need for drugs; both are equally addictive to this new adult, trying to be world-weary when she's really only newly reborn. The fictional Izumi finds herself in increasingly difficult situations and relationships, until it all comes to a head, and the piper must be paid, the music must be faced,

Written in urgent, dialogue heavy scenes, the narrative sits right on Izumi's shoulder, as discomforting and uncomfortable as that might be, and the conversations are like hard-boiled screwball comedies, the comedy very close to turning to tragedy, the screwball the weird truths behind the posturing and bravery.

Despite the fifty years' distance between the novel and now, there's something very contemporary about this book, written at the very start of Suzuki's writing career. The world of the book isn't perfect, nor is the world perfect today. The challenges to women in a male-dominated world haven't gone away. And the folly and bravura of the young remains a potent source of narrative unease and energy.

Not for everyone: three stars.

This book follows the 70s rock scene in Japan. We follow a girl named Izumi in her 20s navigating life, relationships, friendships, and said music scene. It’s told in a series of short stories and seems to be….autofiction maybe? Overall I felt like for such a short book a lot of these stories dragged because they were just her having conversations with people and having copious amounts of sex. I thought the character was interesting and she had a lot of beautiful quotes and thoughts that were relatable but at the same time she did a lot of questionable things. I thought the ending was sad but the rest of this book kind of bored me. Especially the ongoing dialogue about music.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Izumi Suzuki is able to capture the seedy underbelly of the Japanese underground music scene of the 70s — complete with all the sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll that you can imagine in her, newly translated into English, novel Set My Heart on Fire.

This is my first time reading anything by Izumi Suzuki, in fact, I’d never heard about her until now. But I simply couldn’t resist reading Set My Heart on Fire with its promise of detailing the turbulent life of a woman in her 20s in the bar and club scenes of 1970s Tokyo. The idea of struggling through your youth, with iconic music as the background, while trying to fill the void with anything from drugs and alcohol, to sex with musicians? It sounded just up my alley.

I’m not sure I loved this book, maybe I would’ve devoured it whole when I was in my own 20s more than I would now, but I was definitely unable to put it down. I’m not, as mentioned, familiar with Izumi Suzuki, so when I finished the book I took the liberty to read up on her — or as much as I could, there’s very little information available in english! — and it seems that Set My Heart on Fire is a sort of autofiction novel that is semi based on her own life?
If that is the case, I do think it bumps the rating of it up a lot more for me. Seeing as it’s an exploration of her own youth, told in thirteen vignettes that stretches through her 20s and 30s. It makes it feel a lot more impactful in a way? A lot more raw and painful to read. Either way, whether autobiographical, autofiction or just plain fiction, Set My Heart on Fire is a story of a woman feeling lost in her youth and into adulthood. The feeling of losing out on life, when settling for less, and the wish to have it all back — to be young and dumb again, to not have made the mistakes you did because you didn’t think you could get better? But then again, to also not be caught in the past so you’re unable to live the future you could have.

Izumi Suzuki, despite this being written in the 80s and taking place in the 70s, still captures the worries and fears of any young person even today in 2024. The translator, Helen O’Horan, did an exceptional job bringing those feelings to life in English and it’s fantastic that the publisher is allowing for the rest of us to be able to read Suzuki’s works in English. I’m definitely curious to read her other work, which is more akin to science fiction, but which Verso has also made available in English!

TL;DR this book captures all the emotions of being young and dumb, making mistakes, and sitting with those feelings when you’re older. Izumi Suzuki is such an interesting person, I can’t help but want to read more by her!

/// Thank you to Verso Books for the ARC!

"Set My Heart on Fire" is a captivating exploration of Japanese pop culture. This book presents a commendable philosophical constitution. Reading this novel has given me a refreshing departure from the premises I'm usually accustomed to. One of the standout features of this book is its exceptionally dynamic tempo, mirroring the vibrant and fast-paced nature of the pop culture it portrays. The emotional spectrum covered in this novel is broad and impactful. "Set My Heart on Fire" is quite brilliantly composed.


Thank you, NetGalley and Verso Books for the ARC.

Thank you to @netgalley and @versobooks for this #arc, #setmyheartonfire by #IzumiSuzuki translated by #helenohoran

Firstly I need to set a little context. I am a big Suzuki fan, I waited and waited for her first short story collection to come out and absolutely loved them. I read the second collection and enjoyed them too. Her life is fascinating if a little sad and depressing too.

Initially I wrongly assumed this was book 3 of Suzuki's short stories as I understood that, that was the plan for her collection. This is in fact her debut novel, and I am really pleased to be able to read her writing in a longer and more detailed format.

The novel draws from an era, music and scene that I have no knowledge or understanding of if I am honest, I think for someone who knows rock and roll, the blues and the 70s you will really appreciate all the references that I will have missed. On a purely writing review, Suzuki never ceases to impress, some of the passages are just beautiful and so well written. The book flows or jumps from period to period so it can feel a little disconnected but once you have read the book it doesn't feel like that.

I am unsure how to summarise the story itself, it is about a female lead, based no doubt in part on our lovely author, love, music and life events. I found the focus on these life events and decisions quite hard hitting in some respects and again they were written brilliantly.

I would add trigger warnings about domestic abuse and substance misuse, if you need further info drop me a message.

This read like a historic fiction which it has been sold as, so if you like that genre and want a very real insight via fiction this is the book for you. If you generally enjoy excellent writing and profound narration of some really complex life events, definitely add this to your list too. I suggest if you have read either or both short story collections you need to read this to compare and contrast.

Overall I enjoyed this novel and cannot wait to read anything #IzumiSuzuki has released!

#honnomushi100 #reading #japanesefiction #translatedfiction #translatedjapaneseliterature #booksfromjapan #translatedjapanesefiction #japaneseliterature

1970s Tokyo music scene where everyone drinks, takes drugs and sleeps with each other. We travel through this world with Izumi, a girl with no real personality who spends large chunks of her time on drugs and sleeps with anyone she fancies. She’s not fussed by nicking a friend’s boyfriend or being the one who persuaded a family guy to cheat on his wife. Very few of the characters have any redeeming qualities - it seems that they all hate themselves and are using the drugs/sex as a way of dulling the pain.

Not an enjoyable or engrossing read. There are some explicit sex scenes. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you so much Verso for letting me read an ARC of this. I absolutely adored the book and will be posting a more thorough video review on my Instagram page later tonight. If at all possible, I would love to receive a physical arc of this because it's one of my favorite reads all year and waiting until November seems so far away!

I've already shared my impressions with some close bookish friends of mine and I got them interested in the book too, it's a really phenomenal piece of art and I can't wait to read more by Suzuki in the very near future. Thanks again!

I love Izumi Suzuki. I've read all of her books translated into English and this one didn't disappoint. Her writing style is so unique and captivating that I can't help but recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good book. I love that it is focused on the underground music scene of 70's Japan and the people that were apart of it. The book is raw and gritty but also lyrical and elegant with the way Suzuki writes her novels. She is a true gem of a writer

a musical novel following the rock scene in japan in the 1970’s

maybe i’m biased as i love the two topics but i really loved how the author portrays how youth are in the rock scene.

this book perfectly embodies how manipulative rockstars can be to younger women.

as someone who’s dealt with some of the topics ( eating disorders, SA) the book was incredibly hard to read at times.

The Japanese underground music scene in the 70's is rife with drugs, alcohol, sex and plenty of musicians trying to be something. We are taken into this world by Izumi, a young woman in her early 20's, who takes drugs and is free with her body. As we journey with Izumi, she works her way through a series of personal situations where she ruminates on what is real love, what is friendship, and who has power in relationships.
Izumi is one of the most complex characters, I have met on the page. At times she is a blank canvas that men can paint to suit their wants and needs. At other times, she is manipulative, forthright and plain nasty. Her thinking at times is warped, as she concludes that she will not do drugs but will need plenty of sexual partners to offset the cravings, “The meds would kill me before long. Each night I gave myself up to those white pills. Or into the arms of a man. I just wanted to be held by something. Taken in. I couldn’t tell what pleasure was anymore.” What Izumi knows for certain is that she does not know what love is, though she desires it, she has no clue how to obtain it. There are other moments through out the book where she ruminates on topics and how they intertwine, like beauty and happiness.
The people who circle through Izumi's world are a wonderful collection of diverse characters. Her friend Etsuko is a music journalist, and their relationship, well it is interesting. There is jealousy, respect, betrayal, regret, and their interactions towards the end are poignant.
There is an array of men who also come into Izumi’s life but the three who have the most influence being Foo, Joel and Jun. Each bring out a different aspect of who Izumi is, highlighting both the good and bad as there is misunderstandings, dependency, exploitation, admiration and promise.
Each chapter is named after a song and is a vignette. It is a clever way to bring forth Izumi’s story. It really does make you feel that as the reader, you are standing next to her as she goes on the journey. You gather a sense of Izumi’s despair through descriptions such as “Scatterings of neon lights softly stained the rich dark. It was the same night. The same night several times, all overlapping at once.” For she has entered a cycle where everything she does is on repeat. Izumi has almost no care for the future and just lives in the moment.
This is my first foray into the works of Izumi Suzuki, and I was not prepared for such a groundbreaking, powerful and compelling story. When you realise that this novel was first released in the early 1980s, Suzuki's representations of domestic violence are accurate, sensitive but brutal. As I started, I was not expecting to be taken in the direction that evolved. I was assuming this to be a young woman’s journey through the seedy underground Japanese music scene as a groupie, but it is so much more than that. Suzuki has captured and exposed a moment in time which many of us where completely unaware of. It is a powerful, and at times, uncomfortable insight but wholly realised.
Thanks to Netgalley and Verso Books for the ARC.

I got through four chapters...or really they are short stories...mainly conversations or first person rants. But to be honest I was speed reading and not drawn in to the Tokyo buzz of the 1970s.
Maybe I am just to old???? Sorry.
Thanks to NetGalley and Izumi Suzuki for the chance to explore

**trigger warning: drug abuse, rape, mental health**

I really wish I loved this more. I read Suzuki's sf/fantasy short story collection and quite enjoyed it, and while her distinctive voice is still present in this novel, it is bogged down by some quite dark and triggering material. The main character, Izumi, is a 23 year old living in 70s Tokyo. She is beautiful and lives out her hedonistic youth embedded in the Japanese rock music scene. She sleeps around with rock stars, but becomes bored of them quickly: her one true love is the music and legacy that musicians create.

I was enjoying the first 25%: Izumi's attitude towards life was interesting and I liked her friendship with Etsuko. However, even for a short (192 page) book, the plot was wearing thin around the 50% mark. This pacing confused me as to if the book is semi-autobiographical or all fiction. Then Jun arrives, and Izumi's narrative takes an incredibly sad and extremely triggering turn. I know the author struggled with mental illness and took her own life at a young age, but some of the passages about mental health and especially sexual assault were so gratuitously dark that I couldn't read some of them. Unfortunately this book was not for me, and I don't think I could recommend this book to anyone unless they were a previous fan of Suzuki's work.