Swallows , by Natsuo Kirino, translated from the Japanese by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda (Knopf) . This acerbic novel explores the ramifications of a controversial topic in Japan: surrogacy. (Although the practice is legal there, it is widely regarded with skepticism.) Riki, the protagonist, is a twenty-nine-year-old woman from the countryside who is struggling financially in Tokyo. Desperate for stability, she decides to become a surrogate for a rich, artistic couple. But she quickly starts to resent the wife’s desire to control Riki’s body, and she is wary of the husband’s attempts to show feminist solidarity. As Riki navigates conception and pregnancy under the couple’s gaze, she comes to feel that even their good intentions and a substantial paycheck can’t alleviate a sense of exploitation.

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