Weasels in the Attic

Hiroko Oyamada, David Boyd

From Shelf: Books with weird animals on the cover that make me want to read them

Fish-breeding and weasel infestations punctuate this disarming, strange and strangely resonant story of one man's journey toward impending fatherhood, from an award-winning Japanese novelist.

A UK debut from a fresh, prize-winning talent, this quietly surreal novel is perfect for fans of Sayaka Murata and Mieko Kawakami -- Two friends meet across three dinners. In the back room of a pet shop, they snack on dried shrimps and discuss fish-breeding. In a remote new home in the mountains, they look for a solution to a weasel infestation. During a dinner party in a blizzard, a mounting claustrophobia makes way for uneasy dreams. Their conversations often take them in surprising directions, but when one of the men becomes a father, more and more is left unsaid. With emotional acuity and a wry humour, Weasels in the Attic it is an uncanny and striking reflection on fertility, masculinity, and marriage in contemporary Japan. -- "Oyamada is in complete control of her talent... A writer flexing their muscles and preparing for something truly profound" - Japan Times

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