This Japanese novel is a poignant and reflective tale about conjoined twins who share a single body and their quest to understand their shared existence. Author Asahina, a doctor and novelist, blends his medical expertise with deep human empathy to create a narrative that’s both unique and compelling. The story offers profound insights and endearing portrayals of a life that is both relatable and completely different from that of most readers. It’s a quiet yet impactful journey, blending scenes from daily life with flashbacks and hallucinations, provoking thought and emotion alike. The novel’s gentle tone, straightforward style, and occasional humor keep it from feeling heavy or difficult.
The novel is divided into four chapters. The first chapter presents a series of scenes from Shun and An’s daily lives, as they visit their parents and return to their apartment, allowing the reader to gradually understand their unique situation. We also learn about their father, who was born under unusual circumstances—he was a ‘parasitic twin’ who developed inside his brother Katsuhiko before being surgically separated. The chapter concludes with a phone call from their mother, informing them of Katsuhiko’s death. The second chapter follows the next day: Shun and An go to work at a bread factory, but An becomes increasingly preoccupied with their uncle’s death and their own existence as two minds in one body.
The third chapter covers Katsuhiko’s funeral, where their father arrives just in time for the cremation. During the traditional ‘bone separation’ ceremony, the twins are disturbed by the thought that their father and uncle died at different times, leading them to ponder what would happen if one of their consciousnesses died before the other. The final chapter jumps ahead to the interment ceremony forty-nine days later, where Katsuhiko’s ashes are placed in the family grave. When the twins spend the night at their grandparents’ home, Shun falls ill with tonsillitis, while An, unable to feel the symptoms, continues drinking beer. The next morning, as the illness worsens, they are taken to the hospital. Though their future is uncertain, they find solace in knowing their ashes will eventually be placed together in a single urn.
These events in the main storyline are interwoven with flashbacks and reflections that add depth to the narrative. For instance, the final chapter includes a touching moment where An remembers, as a five-year-old, running away from nursery school and into the forest, where she first became aware of Shun’s consciousness and their shared body. There are also intriguing references to events in their shared past, such as when they kissed someone An liked—a memory that is pleasant for An but traumatic for Shun.
Shun and An are captivating protagonists, with the narrative effortlessly switching between their perspectives. Even simple activities like making dinner, choosing a room, or chatting with colleagues are shaped by the constant negotiation between their two minds. I enjoyed gradually uncovering these two distinct personalities within a single body. Sometimes the narrative is humorous, such as when they sigh in exasperation during an interaction with their laid-back father: Shun reasons that if they can’t tell who sighed, both must be equally annoyed. The dynamic between their father and his brother Katsuhiko is also intriguing—having once contained their father as a parasitic twin, Katsuhiko was prone to illness but remained protective of his brother-child. While this might seem complex or overly scientific, Asahina demonstrates how these relationships are guided by deep tenderness and compassion, which reflect the essence of humanity.
Thematically, readers expecting a story about hardship or prejudice will be pleasantly surprised. While these elements are present, they are balanced by the idea that Shun and An possess a unique understanding of existence that is beyond most humans’ reach. Yet, Asahina avoids romanticizing their experience—in one notable passage, An complains that interviews with other conjoined twins often focus on the joy of sharing a body, whereas she and Shun have a more ambiguous relationship with their situation. Rather than turning them into ‘test subjects’ for readers to examine, Asahina empathetically explores what they might teach us about ourselves and the human experience.
As for the writing style, Asahina, who is still a practicing doctor, uses medical terminology sparingly, instead focusing on emotional commentary and simple but endearing dialogue between the main characters. The straightforward depictions of everyday life contrast with the more philosophical sections. While the prose is functional rather than poetic, with only a few vivid descriptions of scenery, the events and sensations described are so captivating that this approach benefits the novel.