re:mote voices

Title: Vibrator
Author: Mari Akasaka
Publisher: Faber and Faber

Rei Hayakawa has voices in her head. The voices keep her awake at night. But it’s ok. She has discovered that if she drinks heavily the voices go quiet. Problem is the drink was making her fat. But it was about that time she learned about self-induced vomiting. So between the alcoholism and the bulimia she feels wonderful. Kind of.

One night Rei is zoning out in a supermarket. She made the mistake of digesting her dinner, so she won’t be able to vomit it back up. So she is contemplating heavy drinking and the crap that you get in women’s magazines that dictate how women should feel and think. When she clamps eyes on a handsome stranger. The voices in her head go off like a siren. She must have this man. Dropping the bottles to the floor, she follows him out into the snowy streets of Tokyo, where he is waiting in the cab of his truck. Thus starts their journey together.

Vibrator is a novella about one woman’s mania. An intense little book, that at times feels mad and random as we follow the waves of Rei’s thoughts. There are sexually charged moments as she and the truck driver explore each other. But the journey becomes more about self-discovery – the cab of the truck gives her a unique view over the world, it feels warm, comfortable and safe, and there is something about the vibrations.

To a degree Vibrator reminds of Tama Janowitz’s Peyton Amberg. Or at least what I expected Peyton Amberg to be having read the first chapter. The violent intensity of a woman, the crashing wreckage of life driven by raw emotions. However where Peton Amberg quickly becomes a book about a New York couples relationship, Vibrator sustains and builds the visceral sensations. The fact that it is a short book no doubt helps, allowing it to suck you in and spit you out in a stripped down and deliberate fashion.