The Navidad Incident

I finished reading the winner of the Tanizaki Jun’ ichiro Prize, 'The Navidad Incident: The Downfall of Matías Guili' by Natsuki Ikezawa. It's set in a small island nation in the South Pacific where a tour bus of elderly Japanese WWII veterans dissapears into thin air. The bus is then seen in a scientist's microscope slide, flying alongside a jet, ordering soda at a grocery store, and attending Mass (but refusing Communion). Meanwhile Guili, the benign dictator of the islands, faces a late mid-life crisis, in part because of the arrival of a young holy woman whom he enlists as an advisor. It's a hard book to explain: part comedy, very small part fantasy, and overall an insightful and engaging glimpse into the soul of a troubled head of state. I really liked it. Grade: A