A book about the disenfranchised youth of modern Japan.
Where values of old and newer values are totally different and will drag the reader kicking and screaming into realisation that all is not what it seems in the neat and structured society of Japan.
Lui, a 19-year old girl, meets Ama, a street punk in a bar. She is fascinated by his forked tongue and immediately moves in with him. She then gets her tongue pierced to work her way towards a forked tongue like his.
Somewhere along the line, she meets his friend, Shiba, a tattoo artist. She gets him to tattoo a Kirin for her. The payment is brutal and leads the three into a terrible love triangle.
A violent encounter in the street one night, changes everything.
Love and Hate, Pain and Pleasure, Anger and Happiness, Good and Evil all become entangled and one loses the ability to tell which is real.
I would say it is essential reading for those who seek to know what is lying underneath the surface of things.
Recommended: 4 out of 5
