Yanagida, a 44-year-old single man working at a massage parlor, finds himself cornered in a dead end despite having tried to live a decent life. In the stifling atmosphere of COVID-19-era Japan, worn down by unreasonable customers, vulgar coworkers, and conflicts with his aging mother, his pent-up rage finally erupts. This novel depicts with visceral immediacy the wanderings of a pure but awkward soul caught between life and death, feeling that everyone around him is a stranger. Winner of the 39th Dazai Osamu Award.

A middle-aged man who thought he was living right suddenly finds himself trapped — and his rage erupts in a society locked down by COVID-19.