Snakes and Earrings (Originally published in Japan as Hebi ni Piasu) Hardback - 2005

by Hitomi Kanehara

An underground world.
A murder.
An international phenomenon.
Snakes and Earrings. . . .

Describing a world as amoral and fascinating as the landscapes of Less Than Zero and Trainspotting, this novel about a young woman living in the violent world of Japan's underground youth culture is both shocking and strangely beautiful.

Enchanted by the snake-like tongue of a stranger called Ama, nineteen-year-old Lui takes a walk into another side of life. On the Tokyo streets, she finds a world where pain bleeds into pleasure. Where day fades into night. And where right turns into wrong.

An international bestseller.
Winner of the Akutagawa Prize.
Translated by David James Karashima.

'A powerful portrait of the post-bubble generation.'
The New York Times

"Snakes and Earrings won't get you arrested, but as you flip these pages, don't be surprised if you're looking over your shoulder.... Hitomi Kanehara fearlessly takes us into a world as inexplicable as Narnia and conveys us with graceful tenacity into the labyrinthine realm that makes up renegade Japanese youth culture."
--J. T. Leroy