Hiroko Oyamada

Hiroko Oyamada was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1983. She studied Japanese language and literature at the university there.

After graduating, she worked in various jobs, including as a temporary worker at a car manufacturer. This experience served as inspiration for her novel »Kōjō« (2013; Eng. »The Factory«), which won the Shinchō Prize for New Writers and the Oda Sakunosuke Prize. »Kōjō« explores around the absurdity and meaninglessness of modern industrial working environments. Three characters go about their tasks in a factory: A woman shreds paper, her brother proofreads documents, and another man examines the moss growing on the premises. Gradually, the boundaries of reality seem to blur: Where does the factory end, and where does the rest of the world begin? And what is the meaning and purpose of the work itself? »In Oyamada’s bleak world, our work creates a sense of isolation that only increases as routines emerge. In quiet desperation, the characters begin to wonder not what they are doing for the factory, but what the factory is doing to them« (»The New Yorker«).

She received the Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, for her second novel »Ana« (2014; Eng. »Hole«, 2014), which is now the first of Oyamada’s works to be translated into German. Jury member Hiromi Kawakami emphasized the author’s ability to embed fantastic events in a realistic setting: After moving, Asa finds herself next door to her parents-in-law. While her husband is fully occupied with his work, Asa still has to get used to her new surroundings. One day, she meets a strange creature on the road and follows it to the banks of a river – where she falls into a hole that seems to have been made just for her. This is the prelude to a series of bizarre events that make Asa question her sanity and cause her to question her role in this world. »Oyamada’s atmospheric literary thriller puts a fresh, gripping spin on the bored housewife,« said »Publishers Weekly«. In addition to her novels, the author has also published short stories and essays.

Hiroko Oyamada lives with her family in Hiroshima.

As of April 2024

Niwa

Shinchosha

Tokio, 2018

The Factory

New Directions

New York, 2019

[Ü: David Boyd]

The Hole

New Directions

New York, 2020

[Ü: David Boyd]

Das Loch
Rowohlt
Hamburg, 2024