Shosetsu Gendai Long-form Newcomer Award
宝石のこえ
When the narrator was in eighth grade, aliens arrived on Earth. Having already abandoned language, they cannot communicate with humans, but when they hear a voice — especially a woman's voice — they excrete beautiful stones called "jewels." Fleeing a hometown she despises, the narrator moves to the city and, in exchange for scholarship support, takes a job at an alien shop, reading aloud to the aliens and collecting the jewels they produce. The warmth of her coworker Canaria and a new connection with a kind young man named Ryou-chan color her days, yet her longing for the abandoned hometown only grows. A cruel mother, a grandmother who raised her, bullying classmates, a neighbor woman called Noro-chan — these memories will not let go. When the narrator learns of Noro-chan's death and returns home, she realizes that the city too was never truly the place she yearned for. The next day, she accepts the aliens' invitation to emigrate to their world.
Work Information
A piercing memoir in search of a place to call home.
Winner of the 20th Shosetsu Gendai Long-form Debut Award (original award title: Yokoso! Koko wa Anata no Furusato desu; retitled Hoseki no Koe for book publication). Set against the backdrop of aliens who excrete jewel-like stones upon hearing a human voice, the novel traces the life of a young woman who despises yet is haunted by longing for her hometown. Author Nozawa Kimi was born in 1988 in Hirosaki, Aomori. Published by Kodansha in June 2026 (serialized in full in Shosetsu Gendai May-June 2026 combined issue).
Review Summaries
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Judges praised the prose highly, describing it as exceptionally skilled, beautifully flowing, and full of quiet, luminous expressions. At the same time, concerns were raised about the ambiguous motivation behind the protagonist's final decision to emigrate to the alien world, and about the balance between fantasy and realism. Judge Yusuke Miyauchi called it his top choice. The work generated lengthy debate among the judges and received a mixed evaluation.
Book Information
- Publisher
- 講談社
- Published
- 2026-06-17
- Pages
- 320 pages
- Language
- 日本語
- ISBN-13
- 9784065435274
- ISBN-10
- 4065435277
- Price
- 2310 JPY
- Category
- 本/文学・評論
第20回小説現代長編新人賞受賞作! 人間の声を聴くと口から宝石のような物質を排出する宇宙人。主人公の瑠璃は、彼らのその性質を利用して対価をもらう「宇宙人の店」で働く代わりに、大学に進学するための費用や生活費などを奨学金として援助してもらっている。 故郷を捨て都会に出てきた瑠璃は、働きながら新たな友人や恋人と出会い日々を謳歌するが、恋人の了一に自らの過去を話せないでいた。 彼と親密になればなるほど、育った環境の違いによる瑠璃のひけめは増すばかり。そんな時、故郷で育ててくれた母代わりの存在が亡くなってしまう。根っこを失い、寄りかかる枝葉もなくなった瑠璃は、言葉の通じない、宇宙人に自らの過去を語り始める。 「故郷」を問う、痛みに満ちたメモワール。
1988年生まれ、青森県弘前市出身。2025年、「ようこそ! ここはあなたのふるさとです」で第20回小説現代長編新人賞を受賞し、翌年同作でデビュー。