Bødy by Asa Nonami is described as a horror story, but don’t expect anything too gory: it’s primarily a psychological horror, with a disturbing, dark atmosphere. The five stories share a concept: in each of them the protagonist plunges into obsessive thoughts about a specific part of his body, hence the titles: Navel, Blood, Wholr, Buttocks and Jaw. In each of them, the unhealthy fascination spirals out of control and leads to self-destruction.
Nonami analyzes how people allow superficial things to take absolute control of their lives, and how, by pursuing the illusion of perfection, people become their own worst enemies. The stories are set against a very everyday background, but the suspenseful atmosphere thickens with every sentence. We follow people living in the shadow of an unattainable ideal: Aiko is a bored housewife whose husband doesn’t notice her plastic surgery. Masao is afraid that his girlfriend will leave him because he is going bald. At her new school, Hiroe faces bullying because of her weight…
Bødy will certainly appeal to fans of darker climates, such as Tajfuny’s Grobowa cisza, żałobny zgiełk (English: Revenge) or the series Black Mirror.
