My introduction to Natsuhiko Kyogoku was the anime adaptation of his second novel of the Kyogokudou series, Mouryou no Hako. Then there was the sci-fi-themed Loups Garous. The first novel of his Kyogokudou series, The Summer of the Ubume, has in contrast been available in English for some time, but I daresay it’s slipped under most people’s radar…which is a bit of a shame. It’s perhaps understandable though since it’s a bit of an acquired taste: it gives an experience akin to a Mamoru Oshii story, building an intellectual ‘wall’ around itself, for want of a better term, that it expects the reader to climb over. The effort is worth your while but I can understand why some people wouldn’t bother.

There are a couple of segments in particular that go off at quite demanding tangents, which is fine for those of us with a passing interest in philosophy, psychology and Japanese folklore, but to most it would come across as self-indulgent on the author’s part (Kyogoku is a youkai enthusiast and boy, does it show up in his writing). Getting through these – and seeing how they are relevant to the story – is the main reservation I’d have in recommending this novel, but overall I loved it.