Hunchback
Saou Ichikawa
LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2025
Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka Isawa has severe spine curvature and uses an electric wheelchair and ventilator. Within the limits of her care home, her life is lived online: she studies, she tweets indignantly, she posts outrageous stories on an erotica website. One day, a new male carer reveals he has read it all – the sex, the provocation, the dirt. Her response? An indecent proposal…
Written by the first disabled author to win Japan’s most prestigious literary award and acclaimed instantly as one of the most important Japanese novels of the twenty-first century, Hunchback is an extraordinary, thrilling glimpse into the desire and darkness of a woman placed at humanity’s edge.
'A must-read debut. Funny and frank, this book lingers in the mind long after you turn the final page' BBC Books of 2025
Hunchback is one of the boldest and most unusual books to emerge from a mainstream publisher in years. It's a brilliant, riveting book that lets us tune into the voices we have long kept suppressed. Sunday Times
‘Uproariously funny, unflinching, and merciless’ Mariana Enriquez, author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
‘Filled with unforgettable insight’ Sakaya Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman
Product Details
About Saou Ichikawa
Reviews for Hunchback
International Booker Prize judges Hunchback is one of the boldest and most unusual books to emerge from a mainstream publisher in years. It's a brilliant, riveting book that lets us tune into the voices we have long kept suppressed.
Johanna Thomas-Corr
The Sunday Times
A must-read debut. Funny and frank, this book lingers in the mind long after you turn the final page
BBC Books of 2025
Gloriously transgressive. The novel asks us which is more important: access to culture or to sexual expression? And, like all good fiction, it doesn’t provide a straight answer.'
Guardian
Written with guts and wit, Hunchback is a tender and defiant story which forces readers to think far beyond ableist concepts of who gets to desire and be desired
Best Books of 2025, AnOther Magazine
Thrillingly transgressive... a difficult, intriguingly recalcitrant, form-busting book
Daily Mail
One of the best books of 2025
Radio Times
Hailed as one of the most important Japanese novels of the 21st century, Hunchback is a subversive and morally complex story that dismantles assumptions about disability. A difficult but revelatory read, expect Hunchback to be one of the most talked about books of the year
Foyles, Best Translated Fiction of 2025
A remarkable and original study of yearning. Funny, lively and very touching.
Big Issue
A lithe, thrilling book — Saou’s writing is as sharp as a knife
Pandora Sykes