[How it Works](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/how-it-works/) [Bookshop](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/books/bindery/) [Publishing](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/publishing/) [Team](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/team/) [Contact](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/contact/) Log in or Sign up Hunchback: A Novel Saou Ichikawa Polly Barton Save to Your Books [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/10458/9780593734711) [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593734718?tag=thisstoryai04-20) 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. Show more Get the Bindery app * * * Posts about this title from Boundless Press [Boundless Press\\ \\ Jananie\\ \\ • Jan 7](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/) [Anti Brain Rot Reading Challenge: Announcing the 2026 Boundless Book Club Picks 📚📖](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/NMzLG7hwokaJLO9NNufQ/) watch for the full list of picks for 2026! * * * 25 books 19 [2](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/NMzLG7hwokaJLO9NNufQ/#comments) [Boundless Press\\ \\ Jananie\\ \\ • Jun 26 2025](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/) [NEW YORK CITY BOOK HAUL \| 💖 Zoran Mamdani for NYC mayor 💖](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/o398xglpHGAqTm1eiK8N/) all the books I grabbed while in NYC for the Bindery Spring Launch! * * * 27 books 6 [1](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/o398xglpHGAqTm1eiK8N/#comments) Posts about this book from across Bindery [2-Spirit Bookshelf\\ \\ (@Indigenousbookshelf)\\ \\ • Mar 15](https://2spiritbookshelf.binderybooks.com/) 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????👀](https://2spiritbookshelf.binderybooks.com/item/BRgcaFRORytMDYyjeMNz/) * * * 3 books 2 [4](https://2spiritbookshelf.binderybooks.com/item/BRgcaFRORytMDYyjeMNz/#comments) [Boundless Press\\ \\ Jananie\\ \\ • Jan 7](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/) [Anti Brain Rot Reading Challenge: Announcing the 2026 Boundless Book Club Picks 📚📖](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/NMzLG7hwokaJLO9NNufQ/) watch for the full list of picks for 2026! * * * 25 books 19 [2](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/NMzLG7hwokaJLO9NNufQ/#comments) [Boundless Press\\ \\ Jananie\\ \\ • Jun 26 2025](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/) \\ \\ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/o398xglpHGAqTm1eiK8N/) [NEW YORK CITY BOOK HAUL \| 💖 Zoran Mamdani for NYC mayor 💖](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/o398xglpHGAqTm1eiK8N/) all the books I grabbed while in NYC for the Bindery Spring Launch! * * * 27 books 6 [1](https://boundless.binderybooks.com/item/o398xglpHGAqTm1eiK8N/#comments) [Discotopia \| Diverse Books\\ \\ Disco (he/they)\\ \\ • Mar 11 2025](https://discotopia.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [All the Review Copies I have to Read](https://discotopia.binderybooks.com/item/HZMGGj8QSwJ6mqvkD6Te/) \[Gifted books\] What’s your next read? #booktok #bookhaul #bookish #queerbook #diversebooks * * * 3 books [chronicallybookish\\ \\ Kaley\\ \\ • Mar 4 2025](https://chronicallybookish.binderybooks.com/) Join for free [March is here and we have a handful of books with disability rep releasing this month! There are less books this month than others, but what is here looks very good!\\ \\ Let's get into it!\\ \\ _Title:_ **I am Made of Death** by Kelly Andrew\\ \\ _Representation_: Deaf\\ \\ _Genre_: YA Horror\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 4, 2025\\ \\ _Title:_ **Fable for the End of the World** by Ava Reid\\ \\ _Representation_: PTSD\\ \\ _Genre_: YA Dystopian\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 4, 2025\\ \\ _Title:_ **Every Borrowed Beat** by Erin Stewart\\ \\ _Representation_: heart failure & transplant recipient\\ \\ _Genre_: YA Contemporary\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 11, 2025\\ \\ _Title:_ **Glitch Girl!** by Rainie Oet\\ \\ _Representation_: ADHD\\ \\ _Genre_: Middle Grade Contemporary\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 11, 2025\\ \\ _Title:_ **Go Luck Yourself** (Royals and Romance #2) by Sara Raasch\\ \\ _Representation_: anxiety & depression\\ \\ _Genre_: Romantasy\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 11, 2025\\ \\ _Title:_ **Hunchback** by Saou Ichikawa (translated from Japanese by Polly Barton)\\ \\ _Representation_: myotubular myopathy\\ \\ _Genre_: Literary Fiction\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 18, 2025\\ \\ _Title:_ **To Steal from Thieves** by M.K. Lobb\\ \\ _Representation_: ADHD\\ \\ _Genre_: YA Fantasy\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 25, 2025\\ \\ _Title:_ **You, As You Are** by Emma Lobb\\ \\ _Representation_: endometriosis\\ \\ _Genre_: Romance\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 27, 2025\\ \\ _Title:_ **This Delicate Flame** by Avery Carter\\ \\ _Representation_: autism\\ \\ _Genre_: Romantasy\\ \\ _Release Date_: March 30, 2025\\ \\ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://chronicallybookish.binderybooks.com/item/Jq9TW2hCKAEwJKtVpQxW/) [March Disability Book Releases](https://chronicallybookish.binderybooks.com/item/Jq9TW2hCKAEwJKtVpQxW/) * * * 9 books 2