Horses, Horses, in the End the Light Remains Pure: A Tale That Begins With Fukushima

In the first major literary response to the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown that devastated northeast Japan in 2011, Furukawa travels back to his childhood home near Fukushima to assess the damage and reconnect with a place that is now doubly alien. His journey conjures the storied history of the region, particularly the Soma nomaoi military exercises, in which wild horses were captured and offered to a Shinto shrine. Standing in the crisp morning light, these horses also tell their stories.