An eclectic and eccentric collection of short stories from the Japanese master of magic realism. Spanning five years of his writing, it includes a stories of a woman put to sleep by tiny flies crawling inside her ear; a nightwatchman whose reflection in a mysterious mirror tries to take control of him; and a couple whose relationship is unbalanced after dining exclusively on crab. Always favouring the surreal over the real, this is a dazzling and mind-bending read. An intimate pleasure Ruth Scurr, }The Times{