フェイスウォッシュ・ネクロマンシー (単行本)
A part-time housewife in her forties, struggling with her son's school refusal, discovers she can summon her late grandmother's spirit after using a facial cleanser sample at a beauty shop. As she immerses herself in cleaning routines, the silent presence of her grandmother accompanies her through a quiet reckoning with family wounds and buried memories. A story of everyday hardship wrapped in whimsy and gentle pathos.
Work Information
Armed with baking soda, facial cleanser, and memories of her childhood home, a part-time housewife endures the winter.
A debut novel by Tomoko Kurihara (who submitted under the pen name Tomoko Maeda), winner of the 41st Dazai Osamu Prize co-sponsored by Chikuma Shobo and the city of Mitaka. The volume collects the award-winning title story alongside a newly written short piece. Kurihara began her literary career as a poet before turning to fiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Selection committee member Kyoko Nakajima praised the work for rendering personally urgent experience with light touches of humor and pathos.
Review Summaries
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Highly regarded. The story is praised for avoiding excessive gravity, instead weaving gentle humor into the narrative with quiet precision. The way memories of the grandmother are rendered through shared affections for popular music is noted as particularly affecting.
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Positive reception. The work is commended for its humorous yet attentive portrayal of the rootlessness lurking in the daily lives of women in their forties. The volume, which includes a newly written short story alongside the award-winning title piece, is praised for its overall depth.
Book Information
- Publisher
- 筑摩書房
- Published
- 2026-01-15
- Pages
- 160 pages
- Language
- 日本語
- Size
- 18.8 x 12.8 x 1.4 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9784480805294
- ISBN-10
- 448080529X
- Price
- 1760 JPY
- Category
- 本/文学・評論/文芸作品
♛第41回 太宰治賞受賞 ♛第39回 三島由紀夫賞候補 息子の不登校に悩む四十代の「私」。美容品を扱う店でテスターを使用したその日から、祖母の霊を降ろせるようになってしまった。掃除に打ち込む「私」の傍らで、もの言わぬ祖母は何をどう感覚しているのか。重曹と洗顔料と生家の思い出を携えて、パート主婦が越冬する。 人生の踊り場で来し方を振り返り、自分なりのやり方で自らの生を肯定する第41回太宰治賞受賞作と、書き下ろし「森と百式――みっちゃん(43)の場合」を収録。 「当人にとっては切実な体験が、少しのおかしみとペーソスを伴って描出される。そのいちいちの言葉の選び方に、ものを書く人らしい丁寧さを感じて、わたしはこの作品を推した。」 ――中島京子
栗原 知子（くりはら・ともこ）：1975年、宮城県生まれ。明治大学文学部卒業。2002年、雑誌「ユリイカ」（青土社）詩の投稿欄において「ユリイカの新人」に選ばれる。詩集に『シューティング・ゲーム』『ねこじゃらしたち』（ともに思潮社）がある。