Catfish Rolling

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I love the dialogues between Sora and her father because, their banters would be funny although they were actually quarelling. The honour of my first 5-star of the new year goes to Clara Kumagai’s phenomenal debut, that blends magical realism and sci-fi elements into a haunting tale of grief, family, time and the earthquake that shook a nation. This connection within a state of disconnect would be an interesting theme to explore with more mature readers. I'd say it's the kind of soft and emotional sci-fi that reminds me of Lars von Trier's Melancholia (2011) and Mike Cahill's Another Earth (2011). Overall, an enjoyable coming of age story that I would recommend to those who like contemplative, character-driven books.

Clara Kumagai’s Catfish Rolling (Head of Zeus/Zephyr) is set in the aftermath of the 2011 Japanese earthquake, an event that has left strange pockets of fractured time around the country. The prologue grabs with the first scene as Sora and her father experience the earthquake, and the world turns upside down around them. Sora grew up with the legend of the giant catfish that lives under the islands of Japan; a creature of magic and myth responsible for earthquakes and tsunami’s by flicks of its tail. This mysterious opening by Clara Kumagai’s debut YA novel, Catfish Rolling, drew me in from the first page. I loved how Sora's relationships (with her father, her missing mother, and her guy friend) are messy and complicated.Coincidentally (or not), that was also the moment when Sora stopped being a one-dimensional character and started to feel like an actual, relatable human being with a fully fleshed out and wide array of emotions. The relationship with Sora's dad was sweet and realistic, and the way the author handled grief and intersected it with time was amazing.

Both Sora and her father have been obsessively exploring the zones in secret, each with motives of their own. Pitch-perfect narration takes us through main character Sora’s efforts to come to terms with the loss of her mother in an earthquake so strong it cracks time itself. But for some reason my brain couldn't quite convey what I was reading which affected my emotions regarding this. That catfish took everything dear to Sora: her beloved home, her sense of happiness, and most devastating of all, her mother.Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review! It was wonderful to read that last third of the book, especially when the author started to include more fantasy aspects, including Japanese folklore. There was a lot that she had to deal on her own after she and her father decided to move to Japan from Canada after the tragedy.

This is a story about coping with grief, handling loneliness, preserving memories, appreciating time, focusing on present moments and people we still have, as well as respecting and understanding the earth and its ecosystem. Another element of this book I loved a lot, is that even if it’s often not easy for Sora to have 2 nationalities, it is so enriching too.But dwelling in the time-zones isn’t without danger, and when Sora’s dad travels too far, Sora must venture into uncharted territory to bring him back to now.