Red Circle Authors is arranging an international blog tour for a new work by Soji Shimada Japan’s master of the postmodern whodunnit and one of its most famous authors who actually originally wanted to become a painter but turned instead to reinventing the art of mystery writing. From 1 September until 11 September 10 international book bloggers will publish reviews of Shimada’s dystopian romance novella, One Love Chigusa, translated by the former UK ambassador to Japan Sir David Warren.
One Love Chigusa, which the South China Morning Post describes as a “mini-masterpiece”, is currently only available in English and hasn’t yet been published in Japanese.
It is the 6th title in the critically acclaimed series Red Circle Minis, a series of short Japanese books in English by award-winning writers. One Love Chigusa was published on 6 August.
Initial reviews of One Love Chigusa have been terrific with this novella being described as:
Copies of paperback edition of One Love Chigusa by Soji Shimada. Photo: Red Circle Authors Limited‘One Love Chigusa is an eerie, strange, and exciting sci-fi novella, and one of the best books published by Red Circle so far’. Books and Bao
‘The story mostly unfolds in a world very much like our own — than in exploring fundamental existential questions and issues — but he provocatively adds one more complicating (cum clarifying) layer to make for a more satisfying (and unsettling) overall picture and conclusion’. The Complete Review
‘This captivating story skips nimbly from artificial intelligence to immortality to loneliness to a meditation on love that will leave you surprised and moved. A mini-masterpiece”. South China Morning Post
Red Circle Authors invites and encourages fans of Japanese literature, as well as international book bloggers and reviewers, to join in sharing their views and thoughts in parallel with our official blog tour on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads and book retailer websites.
If you are a book blogger who enjoys brilliant Japanese fiction or might enjoy a whodunnit wrapped in a tale about a “schizo-cyborg” looking for love and would like to join this tour, we have a limited number of review copies left, which are available if you contact us through our web form.
Our 10 confirmed book bloggers are:
One Love Chigusa by Soji Shimada, the 6th title in the critically acclaimed series Red Circle Minis, on sales in Tokyo at one of Japan’s largest bookshop chains Kinokuniya.
About Red Circle:Red Circle Authors Limited is a specialist publishing and communications company that conducts bespoke projects on behalf of a carefully selected and curated group of leading Japanese authors. Red Circle showcases Japan’s best creative writing. For more information on Red Circle, Japanese literature, and Red Circle authors please visit: www.redcircleauthors.com.-
About Soji Shimada:Soji Shimada is the master of postmodern whodunnits who originally wanted to become a painter turned instead to reinventing the art of mystery writing. His debut novel, The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, now ranked among the top five best locked-room mysteries published worldwide, became an instant classic, transforming him into Japan’s Man of Mystery and one of the country's bestselling authors.
