Book Description
From one of Japan’s most brilliant and sensitive contemporary novelists, this speculative fiction masterpiece envisions an Earth where humans are nearing extinction, and rewrites our understanding of reproduction, ecology, evolution, artificial intelligence, communal life, creation, love, and the future of humanity
In the distant future, humans are on the verge of extinction and have settled in small tribes across the planet under the observation and care of “Mothers.” Some children are made in factories, from cells of rabbits and dolphins; some live by getting nutrients from water and light, like plants. The survival of the race depends on the interbreeding of these and other alien beings–but it is far from certain that connection, love, reproduction, and evolution will persist among the inhabitants of this faltering new world.
Unfolding over fourteen interconnected episodes spanning geological eons, at once technical and pastoral, mournful and utopic, Under the Eye of the Big Bird presents an astonishing vision of the end of our species as we know it.
Praise For This Book
The Millions, A Most Anticipated Book of Summer"Speculative, artful . . . [It] sketches out the end of the world while simultaneously positing nearly unthinkable solutions and grappling with fundamental questions about identity, evolution, memory, and individualism . . . A wild take on humanity’s last stand and our flawed understanding of who we are." —Kirkus Reviews
“No other book of hers convinces me more that Kawakami used to be a teacher of chemistry. A sad but beautiful depiction of a perishing world.” —Banana Yoshimoto
"When I finally closed this book, I felt as though I'd become one of Kawakami's narrators. I even found myself glancing behind me to make sure no one was watching. Calling this book 'worth reading' does it hardly any justice at all."--Yukiko Motoya, author of The Lonesome Bodybuilder
"This delicate story about the future of humankind is fantastical, serious, and nostalgic. I was absolutely stunned by it."--Yasutaka Tsutsui, author of Paprika
"It's as if all of the stories Kawakami had accumulated inside her brain suddenly broke through its membrane and burst into the world. I have a feeling that Hiromi Kawakami will someday win the Nobel Prize."--P+D Magazine
