A woman of pleasure A novel

Murato's chilling and poignant English-language debut portrays a 15-year-old girl sold into an elite brothel in Kumamoto, Japan, by her father at the turn of the 20th century. Aoi Ichi is forbidden to speak her native dialect and is raped along with the other girls by the brothel's owner so he can rate them. The story spans her first year in the brothel and details the various ways she finds strength to survive. She draws on memories of her mother, an ama renowned for her diving to catch fish, who wasn't able to stop Ichi's father from selling her, and takes solace in her friendship with top courtesan Shinonome. After the two friends attempt to escape, they are captured, beaten, and humiliated by the brothel owner. When Ichi turns 16, her father visits the brothel to borrow money against her earnings, and she realizes her enslavement could continue indefinitely. Still, she persists in seeking a way out. As the enslaved women band together in solidarity, taking inspiration from a nearby shipyard strike, the story builds to a dramatic and tense showdown. This immersive chronicle will move readers. (Feb.)

Based on true events, Murata's English-language debut exposes the danger and injustices suffered by trafficked women and children at the turn of the 20th century. Aoi Ichi is still a child at heart, living with her family on the small island of Iojima in Meiji-era Japan. Her life is thrown into chaos when she is sold to a brothel in Kumamoto's pleasure quarter to pay for her father's debts. Suddenly, Ichi has to relearn everything she knows about the world in order to survive strict social hierarchy and systemic sexual violence amid Japan's rapid Westernization. Murata crafts a powerful story with universal themes, and her deep knowledge of history and culture illuminates the impossible situation women were forced to navigate. Still, the novel leaves readers feeling hopeful in the power of women and working-class people. Carpenter's translation is considerate of the essence of its urtext, but the precise use of language is a key theme in the novel, and nuances are often lost in the translation. VERDICT Multi-award-winning Murata is a hit in Japan, and this will be a valuable addition to historical-fiction collections.--Cate Triola

The experiences of a country girl sold into prostitution in 1903 lay bare the established system and financial exploitation of the Japanese pleasure industry. Shinonome is known to be the classiest brothel in Kumamoto, on Kyushu Island, and also, as was customary, became the name of the highest-earning, most desirable courtesan among the 80 under its roof. Fifteen-year-old Aoi Ichi has just arrived from a rocky southern island, and she's placed into Shinonome's mentorship and service. In debt to the bordello both for the money paid to her father and for everything she wears and consumes on site (at inflated prices), Ichi must learn her trade--to attract and please customers--as thoroughly as possible in order to earn her freedom. Murata, an award-winning Japanese author whose books have never before been translated into English, traces Ichi's education and training in clear, simple prose, laying out the big picture--practices, punishments, financial underpinnings--and the more quotidian details: depilation, feminine hygiene, etc. Slowly, Ichi is transformed from an ingénue into a skilled escort, though never entirely shedding her bold instincts. Literacy is another important skill, and Ichi attends the Female Industrial School, where Akae Tetsuko, an impoverished woman of good breeding, offers a wider intellectual perspective. Taking on her own clients, Ichi finds continuing support among her peer group. But the brothel is essentially a harsh prison, and some of the girls, including one who fell pregnant, take flight, threatening its discipline. Then Ichi's father increases her debt burden, and with strikes taking place in Japanese industry and the police changing their policy on enforcing brothel rules, the girls rebel and go on strike themselves. A mass exodus follows, drawing the line under a tale based, unsurprisingly, on true events. A precise portrait of sexual enslavement that tends more toward primer than immersive plot. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.