Hailed as a bold foray into new literary territory, Kawakami's novel is told in the voice of a 14-year-old student subjected to relentless torment for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, the boy chooses to suffer in complete resignation. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate who suffers similar treatment at the hands of her tormenters. These raw and realistic portrayals of bullying are counterbalanced...

Junk. That's what the kids at school call Bobby Lang. Trying desperately to live under the radar at school-- and at the home he shares with his angry, neglectful father-- Bobby develops a sort of proud loneliness. The only buffer between him and the uncaring world is his love of the long, wooded trail between school and home. Then he meets Rachel. She is an artist who sees him in a way no one ever has. Maybe it's because she has her own kind of junk,...