Vibrator

'If you live in a world that's controlled overwhelmingly by men, and if you don't want people making remarks about things that are really none of their business, you've either got to be totally indifferent to how you look or else go around looking beautiful all the time. I attempted to look beautiful all the time. But there are limits to how much you can do . . .'

Late one night, Rei Hayakawa, a troubled young freelance journalist, is idling around the alcohol shelves of her local 24-hour convenience store when she catches sight of a man across the way.

Suddenly she finds herself embarking on a road journey across the wintry landscape of Japan aboard this stranger's long haul truck. But can the physical relationship that develops between them offer Rei what she needs, and can she ever free herself from the dangerously self-destructive tendencies that afflict her?

Part dirty realism, part fairy tale, 'Vibrator' is a disturbing and highly original novel about the strange situations that life can put you in.