February 7, 2025
I picked up this book since it won the Akutagawa Prize and had made headlines for featuring AI. The book is set in the not-too-distant future, and an AI chatbot much like ChatGPT serves more as a background character rather than a central one. I found the first section a little tough to get through, but the second section changes narrators and I found that easier to follow. A lot of topics and themes from the first section were repeated, so that helped reinforce them. Some interesting thoughts on language (particularly 外来語), architecture, and dare I say testing the logical limits of DEI. It wasn't a very long book, so I'd say skip the hardcover and read it in paperback or digital.
