I loved both 夏と花火と私の死体 and the short story 優子 that is featured in the book. 夏と花火と私の死体 was really good, especially for a debut novel and given that Otsuichi was so young when it was published. The way it’s narrated was very interested, very detached given the circumstances, very factual and descriptive too, which contrasted with the tension inherent to the plot.
And 優子 was a really good mystery, there’s both a good twist at the end, and a constant sadness and feeling of loneliness in the story.
夏と花火と私の死体
なつとはなびとわたしのしたい
Details
Author
乙一 (おついち) · Otsuichi
Language
Japanese
Format
Short Stories
Published
1996
Pages
224
Read
2026-06-18 → 2026-06-24
Finished
♥ Liked
★★★★★
Short Stories
1
夏と花火と私の死体
なつとはなびとわたしのしたい
2
優子
ゆうこ
Translation
Title
Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse
Translator
Nathan Collins
Date
2010
More
Otsuichi’s debut novel
Review
★★★★★
♥ Liked
Updates
100%
I finished 優子, it was really good! It has a very good, surprising end, but it’s quite sad too.
72%
There are actually two stories in 夏と花火と私の死体, first the short novel of the same name, that I finished, and a short story: 優子 that I just began,
I loved 夏と花火と私の死体 very much, there was such an emotional detachment in the narration, it was a really interesting reading experience. The story was great, not my favourite one, but impressive for a book published at what, 18 or something like that?
61%
I think I finished a part, even though it’s not really defined as such. Still absolutely loving this novel!
43%
Read some pages today (though didn’t have time to go very far). Really loving this novel! 
28%
This novel is fantastic, it’s fascinating, suspenseful, sad, and intriguing at the same time. I’m loving the beginning very much.
Post
I’m finally starting 夏と花火と私の死体 today!
Characters
優子
清音
きよね
works for the Torigoe
正義
まさよし
head of the family
優子
ゆうこ
Masayoshi’s wife
静枝
しずえ
used to work for the Torigoe
五月
Satsuki
9, narrator. Best friend with Yayoi and her brother.
橘弥生
Tachibana Yayoi
Satsuki’s best friend.
健
Ken
Yayoi’s older brother, also friend with Satsuki.
緑
Midori
Yayoi’s cousin, works in an ice cream factory.
Vocabulary
| Word | Reading | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| かごめかごめ | Children game where a player is blindfolded and is the “oni”. Other children form a circle around the oni and turn while singing a song. When they stop, the oni must name the person behind them. | |
| 茣蓙 | ござ | Mat made of straw or rush. |