Scattered All Over the Earth

In a not-so-distant future, Japan has mysteriously vanished, leaving its former citizens as climate refugees scattered across the globe. Hiruko, one such refugee, teaches children in Denmark using her unique, self-invented language, Panska. This "homemade language" reflects her own fragmented identity and the loss of her homeland. Driven by a poignant longing to reconnect with her mother tongue, Hiruko embarks on an extraordinary journey across Europe. She gathers an eccentric group of companions, each with their own quirks and stories, as they search for anyone who can still speak Japanese. Their surreal odyssey takes them through bizarre encounters—from an umami cooking competition in France and a dead whale to confrontations with an ultra-nationalist, unrequited love, and enigmatic robots. The first installment of a trilogy, Tawada's novel is a mind-expanding and cheerfully dystopian exploration of language, identity, and displacement, reminiscent of a dreamlike, modern-day Alice in Wonderland.