Boundless Press | Hunchback: A Novel

How it Works Bookshop

Publishing Team Contact

Hunchback: A Novel

Saou Ichikawa

Polly Barton

Save to Your Books

Bookshop

Amazon

100% of affiliate revenue supports Boundless Press

LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE

A bombshell bestseller in Japan, a defiant, darkly funny debut novel about a young woman in a care home seeking autonomy and the full possibilities of her life—“not only a major achievement in disability literature but great literature period” (Johanna Hedva).

“A literary phenomenon in Japan, Hunchback is an extraordinary and thrilling debut novel about sex, disability, and power.”—International Booker Prize Judges

A Most Anticipated Book of 2025: Vulture, Publishers Weekly, BBC, Ms. Magazine, AnOther Magazine, Radio Times

Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka spends her days in her room in a care home outside Tokyo, relying on an electric wheelchair to get around and a ventilator to breathe. But if Shaka’s physical life is limited, her quick, mischievous mind has no boundaries: She takes e-learning courses on her iPad, publishes explicit fantasies on websites, and anonymously troll-tweets to see if anyone is paying attention (“In another life, I’d like to work as a high-class prostitute”).

One day, she tweets into the void an offer of an enormous sum of money for a sperm donor. To Shaka’s surprise, her new nurse accepts the dare, unleashing a series of events that will forever change Shaka’s sense of herself as a woman in the world.

Hunchback has shaken Japanese literary culture with its skillful depiction of the physical body and its unrepentant humor. Winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, it’s a feminist story about the dignity of an individual who insists on her right to make choices for herself, no matter the consequences.

Formally creative and refreshingly unsentimental, Hunchback depicts the joy, anger, and desires of a woman demanding autonomy in a world that doesn’t always grant it to people like her. Full of wit, bite, and heart, this unforgettable novel reminds us all of the full potential of our lives, regardless of the limitations we experience.

Get the Bindery app

Posts about this title from Boundless Press

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jan 7

Anti Brain Rot Reading Challenge: Announcing the 2026 Boundless Book Club Picks 📚📖

watch for the full list of picks for 2026!

25 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jun 26 2025

NEW YORK CITY BOOK HAUL | 💖 Zoran Mamdani for NYC mayor 💖

all the books I grabbed while in NYC for the Bindery Spring Launch!

27 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

2-Spirit Bookshelf\ \ (@Indigenousbookshelf)\ \ • Mar 15

Join for free

\ \ For the lovers of “Unhinged” books except I’m tired of seeing that word used so much recently on bookstagram so I’m just gonna go with WTF instead\ \ Some of my recent reads. These are not Indigenous, but explore other areas of marginalized identities such as disability, trauma, mental illness, gender, sexuality, class, etc.\ \ Also sorry I’ve been so absent, I’m really struggling with my health!!!! :(\ \ but I will try to commit to more regular posts!](https://2spiritbookshelf.binderybooks.com/item/BRgcaFRORytMDYyjeMNz/)

WTF BOOKS????👀

3 books