Fuminori Nakamura enjoys exploring the human psyche in his work. He delves into the psychology of his characters, analyzing how they react to the situations in which they find themselves and figuring out what makes them who they are. His latest work to be translated into English, THE BOY IN THE EARTH, is no different. Here readers are treated to his breakdown of the inner workings of the mind of an unnamed taxi driver in Tokyo.

The narrator has a lot eating at him. His girlfriend is a frequent drinker, his absent father has tried reaching out to him, and he’s barely making enough money. All the while he’s being incessantly drawn to danger. The opening chapter sets the tone, as the protagonist knowingly puts himself in danger. This is a quality that persists throughout the novel; he can’t help but be drawn to harm, and sometimes that harm is self-inflicted. At one point, he drops a can from high up an apartment building and then almost drops himself --- not by accident, but because he has an unexplainable desire to return to the earth, to die. He stops himself but doesn’t know why, just as he doesn’t know why he wants harm in the first place.

"THE BOY IN THE EARTH is short and easily consumable, but you’ll want to take your time and settle in with it. It begs to be read slowly and carefully."

He can’t describe the feeling he experiences while getting beaten up in the book’s opening scene (joy? excitement?) and can’t explain his desire to return to the earth. He was beaten as a child by his foster families, and it’s up to the reader to determine if this somehow sparked his desire for pain and death.

There are some faults in THE BOY IN THE EARTH that have been present in other works by Nakamura. As in THE GUN, the only female character here, Sakuyo, is primarily treated as a sex object by the narrator, though she is given depth. She once gave birth to a stillborn baby, which influences how she behaves and how she is characterized now. Sakuyo is an interesting character who deserved more attention outside of the bedroom.

Sometimes Nakamura’s writing can be too simplistic. He often relies on a telling style of writing in scenes that give unnecessary information and can be boring at times (his characters love to buy cans of coffee and tell you they drink the coffee). However, when he takes his time exploring his character’s heads, his writing shines. Not a lot of events take place, and most of the narrator’s travels or conversations prompt thoughts or flashbacks that make up most of the book. Nakamura will take full chapters exploring and breaking down the thoughts of his narrator. This is where he is at his best and why the book is worth a read.

THE BOY IN THE EARTH is short and easily consumable, but you’ll want to take your time and settle in with it. It begs to be read slowly and carefully. Let its ideas take root in you and spend time pondering what’s keeping our narrator going. Explore his psyche, his humanity and his true nature --- and enjoy the book.