
Hunchback
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Polly Barton
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Yuriri Naka
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By:
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Saou Ichikawa
About this listen
LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE • A bombshell bestseller in Japan, a defiant, darkly funny debut novel about a young woman in a care home seeking autonomy and the full possibilities of her life—“not only a major achievement in disability literature but great literature period” (Johanna Hedva)
“A literary phenomenon in Japan, Hunchback is an extraordinary and thrilling debut novel about sex, disability, and power.”—International Booker Prize Judges
“Unforgettable . . . a thriller of the body . . . [a] miracle.”—The New York Times Book Review
Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka spends her days in her room in a care home outside Tokyo, relying on an electric wheelchair to get around and a ventilator to breathe. But if Shaka’s physical life is limited, her quick, mischievous mind has no boundaries: She takes e-learning courses on her iPad, publishes explicit fantasies on websites, and anonymously troll-tweets to see if anyone is paying attention (“In another life, I’d like to work as a high-class prostitute”). One day, she tweets into the void an offer of an enormous sum of money for a sperm donor. To Shaka’s surprise, her new nurse accepts the dare, unleashing a series of events that will forever change Shaka’s sense of herself as a woman in the world.
Hunchback has shaken Japanese literary culture with its skillful depiction of the physical body and its unrepentant humor. Winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, it’s a feminist story about the dignity of an individual who insists on her right to make choices for herself, no matter the consequences. Formally creative and refreshingly unsentimental, Hunchback depicts the joy, anger, and desires of a woman demanding autonomy in a world that doesn’t always grant it to people like her. Full of wit, bite, and heart, this unforgettable novel reminds us all of the full potential of our lives, regardless of the limitations we experience.
©2025 Saou Ichikawa (P)2025 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“A brilliant, riveting book that lets us tune into voices we have long kept suppressed.”—The Sunday Times (UK)
“[A] gloriously transgressive debut.”—The Guardian
“Audacious, insightful, bold, and—with its critique of ableism—necessary . . . an absolutely stunning debut . . . Some readers might be shocked by this brave novel; others might find themselves interrogating their own ableism.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
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Trauma Plot
- A Life
- By: Jamie Hood
- Narrated by: Jamie Hood
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In the thick of lockdown, 2020, poet, critic, and memoirist Jamie Hood published her debut, how to be a good girl, an interrogation of modern femininity and the narratives of love, desire, and violence yoked to it. The Rumpus praised Hood’s “bold vulnerability,” and Vogue named it a Best Book of 2020. In Trauma Plot, Hood draws on disparate literary forms to tell the story that lurked in good girl’s margins—of three decades marred by sexual violence and the wreckage left behind.
By: Jamie Hood
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Rooms for Vanishing
- A Novel
- By: Stuart Nadler
- Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy, Bruce Mann, Kathleen Gati, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In Rooms for Vanishing, the violence of war has fractured the universe for the Altermans, a Jewish family from Vienna. Moving across decades, and across the world, the novel finds the Altermans alone in their separate futures, haunted by the loss of their loved ones, each certain that they are the sole survivor of their family.
By: Stuart Nadler
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Vanishing World
- A Novel
- By: Sayaka Murata
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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As a girl, Amane realizes with horror that her parents “copulated” in order to bring her into the world, rather than using artificial insemination, which became the norm in the mid-twentieth century. Amane strives to get away from what she considers an indoctrination in this strange “system” by her mother, but her infatuations with both anime characters and real people have a sexual force that is undeniable.
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Excellent
- By Chris Reich on 04-28-25
By: Sayaka Murata
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See Friendship
- A Novel
- By: Jeremy Gordon
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Ahead of looming layoffs within the ongoing decimation of media, Jacob Goldberg, a culture writer in New York, knows what will save him: a podcast. Not just any podcast, but something that will demonstrate his singular thoughtfulness in an oversaturated, competitive market. When Jacob learns the true, tragic circumstances behind the mysterious death of Seth, one of his best friends from high school, his world is turned completely upside down. But when the dust settles, he realizes he has an idea worth digging into. Of course, it’s not so simple.
By: Jeremy Gordon
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O Sinners!
- A Novel
- By: Nicole Cuffy
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, SEVAN
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Faruq Zaidi, a young journalist processing the recent death of his father, a devout Muslim, takes the opportunity to embed himself in a cult called “the nameless.” Based in the California redwoods and shepherded by an enigmatic Vietnam War veteran named Odo, the nameless adhere to the 18 Utterances, including teachings such as “all suffering is distortion” and “see only beauty.”
By: Nicole Cuffy
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Abortion
- Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win
- By: Jessica Valenti
- Narrated by: Jessica Valenti
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In her most urgent book yet, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Valenti shines a light on the conservative assault on women’s freedom, cutting through the misinformation and overwhelm to inform, engage, and enrage. From the attacks Americans know about to the ones anti-abortion lawmakers and groups are trying to hide, Valenti details the tactics and horrors that she’s been painstakingly tracking in her acclaimed newsletter, Abortion, Every Day.
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Sound the alarm
- By Poppy Fitch on 03-04-25
By: Jessica Valenti
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Perras de reserva [Reservoir Bitches]
- By: Dahlia de la Cerda
- Narrated by: Rosa Vásquez
- Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Y es que las protagonistas de Perras de reserva comparten las dificultades y peligros implicados en el mero hecho de nacer mujeres, y los enfrentan con los recursos que la vida les ofrece, obligadas a formular sus propias categorías para situar la frontera entre el bien y el mal. Y nos cuentan sus vidas siempre en primera persona, haciéndonos parte íntima de su forma de habitar el mundo, con un lenguaje sumamente oral y coloquial, casi siempre cargado de una fuerte dosis de humor negro.
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Muy interesante
- By Joanna Nino on 04-14-25
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Firstborn
- A Memoir
- By: Lauren Christensen
- Narrated by: Lauren Christensen
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Lauren Christensen is a thirtysomething editor in New York City when she meets her future husband, Gabe, a writer with whom she falls in love right away. Her beloved grandfather is dying, but the young couple is bringing new life into the family: Lauren and Gabe joyfully discover she is pregnant with their daughter, Simone. As Lauren faces the prospect of becoming a parent, she learns to let go of the fear of abandonment and need for control, but just weeks after their wedding, they learn that their worst nightmare has come true: Simone is dying in the womb.
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Beautiful
- By Ashley M. on 03-28-25
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My Documents
- A Novel
- By: Kevin Nguyen
- Narrated by: Kelly Marie Tran
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Informed by real-life events, from Japanese incarceration to the Vietnam War and modern-day immigrant detention, Kevin Nguyen’s novel gives us a version of reality only a few degrees away from our own. Moving and finely attuned to both the brutalities and mundanities of racism, Mỹ Documents is a strangely funny and touching portrait of American ambition, fear, and family. The story of the Nguyens is one of resilience and how we return to one another, and to ourselves, after tragedy.
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Unique story and characters
- By Lindsey on 05-25-25
By: Kevin Nguyen
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Hot Air
- A Novel
- By: Marcy Dermansky
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Joannie hadn’t been on a date in seven years when Johnny invites Joannie and her daughter to dinner. His house is beautiful, his son is sweet, and their first kiss is, well, it’s not the best, but Joannie could convince herself it was nice enough. But when Joannie’s childhood crush, a summer-camp fling turned famous billionaire, crash-lands his hot-air balloon in Johnny’s swimming pool, Joannie dives in.
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It was soooo bad. I had to quit midway thru.
- By malibooboo on 04-22-25
By: Marcy Dermansky
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The Way Up Is Death
- By: Dan Hanks
- Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND. As a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity children's author lead the others in trying to understand why they've been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone . . . is up.
By: Dan Hanks
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On the Calculation of Volume, Book II
- By: Solvej Balle
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Liang
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The first year of November eighteenth is coming to a close, and Tara Selter has returned to her hotel room in Paris, the place where it all began. As if perched at the edge of a precipice, she readies herself to leap into November nineteenth. Book II of Solvej Balle’s astounding seven-part series On the Calculation of Volume beautifully expands on the speculative premise of Book I, drawing us further into the maze of time, where space yawns open, as if suddenly gaining a new dimension, extending into ever more fined-grained textures.
By: Solvej Balle
it felt real and poetic..
I felt a hypnotic feeling, the white light, the lotus flower washes the filth away even in the mud..
I for one really hope there's a part 2
Blooming from the Mud
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Wonderfully Provacative
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Vulgar and offensive
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