Ep. 24: Your Job is to Talk to a Statue - strange, quiet comfort of "nonsensical" moments in "When the Museum is Closed"
Today, I’m diving into When the Museum is Closed (Kyukanbi no Kanojotachi) by Emi Yagi.
The story follows Rika, a woman whose part-time job is to hold conversations with a statue of Venus at a museum.
While it sounds like a surreal fantasy, the book feels grounded in a reality.
In this episode, I share why I actually enjoyed NOT being able to logically explain my feelings about this book.
I also discuss the unique experience of reading this story in Japanese - how the visual use of Katakana for names creates a specific sense of detachment, and the beautiful,quiet way the protagonist’s inner…
The skinny
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