鳥の夢の場合

Two of the four tenants have moved out, leaving Hatsuse and Hasumi, plus Hatsuse's Java sparrow, with twice the rent. Hatsuse half-heartedly visits estate agents. Hasumi, who now makes his living composing, rarely leaves his room; he records the riverbank (footsteps, bicycles, birds, the endless water) and sets it against a drum-machine beat. Then Hasumi announces that his heart has stopped: he is dead, so would Hatsuse please kill him? Told mostly from the two men's sides in turn, the story follows how each keeps time with the world, Hasumi through pulse and rhythm, Hatsuse through the blink of an eye, while Hatsuse takes to carrying a stool around in search of spots where all sound drops away.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Length

148 pages in the original

Genres

Speculative (assigned by AI)

First published

2025 by Kodansha

Author's age

30 when first published

ISBN

9784065404256 (original)