Rika Horauchi, the protagonist of ¡°When the Museum is Closed,¡± a new novel written by Emi Yagi and translated by Yuki Tejima, doesn¡¯t like talking. Unless it¡¯s to a statue of Venus.
When the Museum is Closed, by Emi Yagi. Translated by Yuki Tejima. 256 pages. SOFT SKULL PRESS, fiction.
Resembling other awkward female characters in contemporary Japanese literature who resist normative socialization (think Keiko in Sayaka Murata¡¯s ¡°Convenience Store Woman¡± or Akari in Rin Usami¡¯s ¡°Idol, Burning¡±), Rika could easily be read as existing on the autistic spectrum. She lives a solitary life and works in frozen-food warehouses. When interacting with people, she speaks in a tiny voice ¡ª or points to her throat, pretending that she cannot speak. At home, she watches YouTube livestreams of places around the world that she never plans to visit, staring at people with whom she would never try to speak. Veering into the surreal, she is said to wear an invisible yellow raincoat, shielding her from words and people.
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