The Night of Baba Yaga
A fierce mixed-race fighter develops a powerful attachment to the yakuza princess she’s been forced to protect in this explosive queer thriller: Kill Bill meets The Handmaiden meets Thelma and Louise.
Tokyo, 1979. Yoriko Shindo, a workhorse of a woman who has been an outcast her whole life, is kidnapped and dragged to the lair of the Naiki-kai, a branch of the yakuza. After she savagely fends off a throng of henchmen in an attempt to escape, Shindo is only permitted to live under one condition: that she will become the bodyguard and driver for Shoko Naiki, the obsessively sheltered daughter of the gang’s boss.
Eighteen-year-old Shoko, pretty and silent as a doll, has no friends, wears strangely old-fashioned clothes, and is naive in all matters of life. Originally disdaining her ward, Shindo soon finds herself far more invested in Shoko’s wellbeing than she ever expected. But every man around them is bloodthirsty and trigger-happy. Shindo doubts she and Shoko will survive much longer if nothing changes. Could there ever be a different life for two women like them?
Akira Otani’s English-language debut moves boldly through time and across gender, stretching the definitions and possibilities of each concept. Rendered in a gorgeous translation by International Booker–shortlisted Sam Bett, this lean, mean thriller proves that bonds forged in fire are unbreakable.
Tokyo, 1979. Yoriko Shindo, a workhorse of a woman who has been an outcast her whole life, is kidnapped and dragged to the lair of the Naiki-kai, a branch of the yakuza. After she savagely fends off a throng of henchmen in an attempt to escape, Shindo is only permitted to live under one condition: that she will become the bodyguard and driver for Shoko Naiki, the obsessively sheltered daughter of the gang’s boss.
Eighteen-year-old Shoko, pretty and silent as a doll, has no friends, wears strangely old-fashioned clothes, and is naive in all matters of life. Originally disdaining her ward, Shindo soon finds herself far more invested in Shoko’s wellbeing than she ever expected. But every man around them is bloodthirsty and trigger-happy. Shindo doubts she and Shoko will survive much longer if nothing changes. Could there ever be a different life for two women like them?
Akira Otani’s English-language debut moves boldly through time and across gender, stretching the definitions and possibilities of each concept. Rendered in a gorgeous translation by International Booker–shortlisted Sam Bett, this lean, mean thriller proves that bonds forged in fire are unbreakable.
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Community Reviews
The Night of Baba Yaga is a dark, gritty story about a drifter who finds herself working for a yakuza crime lord as a bodyguard to his daughter. Not much phases Shindo and she's lived her life taking care of herself. But she never anticipating finding a friend in Shoko.
This is a short read, but the story is a lot to take in all at once. And if this is not the normal type of book or theme that you have read before, you may not enjoy it. Shindo's character is complex and fierce. Her will power and self assurance was very appealing and added to my reading experience.
And while the grittiness of her character and the yakuza world she's forced into may resemble that of Kill Bill, it doesn't make Kill Bill some sort of benchmark, staple. Women have always been strong, smart, adaptive and capable. It's just that men don't treat or write them with dignity or respect. Shindo didn't have a normal upbringing; she was basically trained her entire life to fight. There wasn't a situation that radicalized her to be the person that she was.
Moving onto my actual review. Shindo and Shoko's friendship builds naturally in this book, giving readers a well-paced view of their how organic their connection develops. But readers will immediately pick-up on what Shoko's character hides behind her sad eyes. To me, Shindo and Shoko's lives were both sad and lonely. Each of them grew-up experiencing isolation but in different ways. And on a fateful night, both of them essentially say enough is enough.
Their relationship isn't conventional and I liked the plot twist just over the halfway point; It was unexpected.
This is a short read, but the story is a lot to take in all at once. And if this is not the normal type of book or theme that you have read before, you may not enjoy it. Shindo's character is complex and fierce. Her will power and self assurance was very appealing and added to my reading experience.
And while the grittiness of her character and the yakuza world she's forced into may resemble that of Kill Bill, it doesn't make Kill Bill some sort of benchmark, staple. Women have always been strong, smart, adaptive and capable. It's just that men don't treat or write them with dignity or respect. Shindo didn't have a normal upbringing; she was basically trained her entire life to fight. There wasn't a situation that radicalized her to be the person that she was.
Moving onto my actual review. Shindo and Shoko's friendship builds naturally in this book, giving readers a well-paced view of their how organic their connection develops. But readers will immediately pick-up on what Shoko's character hides behind her sad eyes. To me, Shindo and Shoko's lives were both sad and lonely. Each of them grew-up experiencing isolation but in different ways. And on a fateful night, both of them essentially say enough is enough.
Their relationship isn't conventional and I liked the plot twist just over the halfway point; It was unexpected.
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