I love two things so much: nerdy stuff and when people are really passionate about said nerdy stuff and write about it academically. Combine this with Mothra, who I love so much, and you get this. I had so much fun and learned a lot. I love learning some of the sociological, political, and historical context behind the origins of my favorite kaiju.

I have always enjoyed Mothra of all kaiju, so this was a welcome read. The format of the tripartite authorship was interesting, and the sparseness of the prose in some areas was well explained by the fact that the novella was explicitly a blueprint/advert for the movie.

The enjoyment I found in the novella itself was overshadowed by the enjoyment I found in the translator, Jeffrey Angles', explanatory afterword. His deep understanding of the social and political world of 1961 Japan gave me much better understanding of not only this novella, but the genre as a whole. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it highly.

(This is a particular delight for me, as I realized after requesting the novella that Jeffrey Angles just must have to have been the same person who TAed my two Japanese literature in translation classes with Prof William Tyler at Ohio State University in approximately 2003. It's a vastly small world and I'm just so thrilled to have discovered this.)

The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Shin'ichiro Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta; translated by Jeffrey Angles

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kaiju. Monstrous beasts wreak havoc upon the landmark cities in Japan—Godzilla, and now Mothra. The movies birthed such terrifying memories, such as King Kong's menacing growls atop the Empire State Building.

In the writing of The Luminous Fairies and Mothra, three Japanese authors take turns at creating a new Kaiju, Mothra. Translated by Jeffrey Angles, readers are taken to a remote island simply known as Infant Island, the simple target of Rosilica for hydrogen bomb testing grounds. In the making of legends, a boat called the "Genyo-maru" had sunk in Typhoon No. 8, and yet somehow four officers clung to survival during their time upon the island. How, one must wonder? Certainly, the radiation from the bombs would have decimated all living beings on the land. In a twist, the survivors wrote a novel describing their experiences on Infant Island; of note, the book speaks of an indigenous tribe that helped them survive. This becomes the focal point of a new expedition, sent out by the political regimes with vested interests. Discovering the Aboriginal persons and unlocking the mysteries that lie within.

Due to the length of this novella, it would be a disservice to a future reader if I went further. However, once the story concludes, a fascinating in-depth look at how and why the novella was written finishes off the reading experience.

During this time of war and strife, the novel has several political undertones. Shin'ichiro Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta wrote not only a novella to be used as a script for a subsequent movie made by Toho Studios, but they also infused the story with their personal beliefs, carefully melding the majority of Japanese sentiment about American occupation during this time.

I came away amazed at how much our authors’ styles differed and yet resonated with a similar theme. The novella felt taut and seamless. The authors' wholehearted attempt to be politically correct, while carefully placing suggestive words and characters, is an attempt to convey emotion and a call for peace and dignity.

Recommended reading! One that will have you wondering if we, as readers, take the necessary time to appreciate what goes behind the making of even the scariest of Kaiju.

Many thanks to the University of Minnesota Press for the ARC through NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.