Hunchback

Reviews / Votes

Unapologetic, unashamed and unflinching. Hunchback grips the reader with its raw, fizzing, subversive energy, even as it shakes off shackles - both physical and mental. A book that moved and thrilled us. -- International Booker Prize judges Hunchback is one of the boldest and most unusual books to emerge from a mainstream publisher in years. It's a brilliant, riveting book that lets us tune into the voices we have long kept suppressed. -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * The Sunday Times * A must-read debut. Funny and frank, this book lingers in the mind long after you turn the final page * BBC Books of 2025 * Gloriously transgressive. The novel asks us which is more important: access to culture or to sexual expression? And, like all good fiction, it doesn't provide a straight answer.' * Guardian * Written with guts and wit, Hunchback is a tender and defiant story which forces readers to think far beyond ableist concepts of who gets to desire and be desired * Best Books of 2025, AnOther Magazine * Thrillingly transgressive... a difficult, intriguingly recalcitrant, form-busting book * Daily Mail * One of the best books of 2025 * Radio Times * Hailed as one of the most important Japanese novels of the 21st century, Hunchback is a subversive and morally complex story that dismantles assumptions about disability. A difficult but revelatory read, expect Hunchback to be one of the most talked about books of the year * Foyles, Best Translated Fiction of 2025 * A remarkable and original study of yearning. Funny, lively and very touching. * Big Issue * A lithe, thrilling book - Saou's writing is as sharp as a knife -- Pandora Sykes