My Goodreads and Amazon reviews of Hunchback: A Novel by Saou Ichikawa (Rated 5) – Invitation to Voyeurism. Hunchback, the award-winning Japanese novel written by Saou Ichikawa (and translated by Polly Barton), robs readers of breath in the same way that myotubular myopathy, the congenital muscular disorder that afflicts Shaka, the protagonist, clogs her lungs. An heiress, whose late parents left her the group facility where she lives, Shaka’s alert mind is the antithesis of her crippled body. She connects to the world by pursuing university degrees and writing website porn. Not having experienced sex herself, she relies on her imagination, and an astute understanding of what her readers want, to create steamy erotic scenarios. Ichikawa, who suffers from the disease herself, is matter-of-fact describing the daily rituals necessary for survival. She is equally down-to-earth detailing sexual fantasies. Reading them felt voyeuristic, and yet my guilt was assuaged by the fact that I was doing so at her invitation. More than her invitation — her insistence! She demands that readers not look away, but instead acknowledge that people with disabilities exist and have the same desires as able-bodied people. A novelist myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I create atypical characters who seek comparable recognition. Ichikawa makes this plea in a short and intense book that is initially unsettling but ultimately settles into a portrayal of basic human nature.
A disabled woman demands to be seen
Why writers read: “To find words for what we already know.” – Alberto Manguel
