A panel of Japanese-to-English literary translators joined us to celebrate the launch of science-fiction legend Izumi Suzuki’s first English-translated book. Terminal Boredom is a collection of unique, speculative short stories that capture Suzuki’s singular voice.
The late author was a countercultural icon, centering her writing on themes of gender and the danger of technological attachment. Panelists Sam Bett, Morgan Giles, Daniel Joseph, Margaret Mitsutani, and Helen O’Horan discussed the timeliness of these themes as well as the widening body of Japanese-to-English translations.
Featured Book
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Terminal Boredom
By Izumi Suzuki
Published by Verso Books
Translated by Polly Barton, Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph, Aiko Masubuchi & Helen O'Horan
The first English language publication of the work of Izumi Suzuki, a legend of Japanese science fiction and a countercultural icon
At turns nonchalantly hip and charmingly deranged, Suzuki’s singular slant on speculative fiction would be echoed in countless later works, from Margaret Atwood and Haruki Murakami, to Black Mirror and Ex Machina. In these darkly playful and punky stories, the fantastical elements are always earthed by the universal pettiness of strife between the sexes, and the gritty reality of life on the lower rungs, whatever planet that ladder might be on.
