Something strange is going on in Shimura Kobo’s house. He senses that somebody must be moving around the premises while he is absent. To catch the intruder he installs surveillance cameras and indeed a woman shows up using his kitchen, helping herself to one of his yoghurts and moving around like she lives there. The police are called and the woman arrested. She had installed herself in the spare room, hidden for quite some time. Shimura should be happy to be rid of this person, but instead he feels that now something is missing.
A very special novel set in a foreign environment. Very interestingly drawn is the protagonist’s psychological development. Rather isolated from the outer world and his colleagues, he starts feeling another being when the one next to him is gone. Surprisingly the perspective shifts and we get the account of the woman. This is the moment where Eric Faye attacks the economy and its dire conditions for human beings. Apart from the very compelling portrayal of the psychological development, this very critical account of how quickly one might lose everything in life is not only very convincing but also makes you think about the world we live in.