Folio. FOTOGRAFUL AMINTIRILOR PIERDUTE

Hirasaka runs a photo studio between life and what comes next. Its clock has stopped, and he collects old cameras. Three guests arrive. One is a nursery teacher aged 92. One is a 47-year-old yakuza member. The third is a young girl. Over tea, he tells each guest what they must do. They must choose one photo for each year they lived.

Each guest can also go back to a memory they treasure. They may take a photo with one of Hirasaka’s cameras. But they must not speak to or act with anyone there. Their choices show the lives they have led. Why does Hirasaka stay when all the others leave?

Sanaka Hiiragi’s novel blends fantasy with questions about memory and death. It draws on a Japanese belief called somato. In this belief, key memories pass before your eyes near death. Hirasaka helps his guests see those moments once more.

Hiiragi’s birthplace is Japan’s Kagawa prefecture. She was born in 1974. She studied literature at Kobe Women’s University. She then went on to study at Himeji Dokkyo University. She taught Japanese abroad for seven years. The Konomys prize brought her writing to notice. It is a prize for young suspense writers. She takes an interest in photography, cameras, and kimono art.

Iolanda Prodan translated this Folio edition from Japanese.