Shipwrecks (Harvest Book) (Canons)

by Akira Yoshimura

[nannah]

Wow, I'm almost not sure what to say about this book. I don't think I've read many like it before.

Book content warnings:
suicide
domestic abuse mention

Shipwrecks is a historical fiction novel (that kind of reads like a nonfiction novel ??) that literally transports you to a tiny fishing village in Japan. The village is very poor, often fighting starvation, and sells able-bodied men and women to the next village into bondage. Every winter, the village's people light fires to lure O-fune-sama to their reef. Basically, to lure cargo ships to their ruin.

The book almost seems coming-of-age, but mostly, it's like a documentary (as told from the inside, of course). It takes place over many years, many hardships, many deaths, and a couple joys. This isn't the typical book I review, so I'm not sure how to handle it.

Except for that it's so interesting and horribly satisfying how O-fune-sama, the saving grace of the village, also became the village's destroyer in the end (for the most part).

I can't say I really enjoyed this book, but it didn't ever lose my interest.