Hello, Limerence

Every so often, you read a debut that seizes you by the throat with the freshness of its voice. At once ironic, self-aware and drenched in desire, Yamaguchi’s pulsating diary of a crush plunges us into the mind of her narrator Mika, a corporate drone approaching 25 and saddled with a “terminal case of virginity”. Sick of being groped on the packed Tokyo commute, perved over at work and pining fruitlessly for pretty boys, she feels her erotic fantasies will never be fulfilled – until she meets Tai at a party. Is this limerence or something much more thrilling?