Beauty in Disarray

Indeed there is an introduction explaining the circumstances of the time, which anyone can skip if they like. The ending at the climatic point which is before the ending we know of the real story is a rather Japanese thing to do, perhaps, and I have read enough Japanese pieces not to mind this style. Within those bounds, this is a detailed and engaging portrait of the erratic, fantastic course of one fairly wild woman's life within an extreme political climate and a time of huge social change. The heroine is anything but perfect, but her story captured me, and in fact greatly changed the direction of a panel I am presenting on Japanese women authors. Enough to make me seek out other works by Setouchi without hesitation.