Genre Fiction
![Rin Usami - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_rin_usami.jpg)
Idol, Burning: A Novel
A DECEMBER INDIE NEXT PICK!
"Haunting and sincere, Idol, Burning subverts and astonishes. Rin Usami balances humor, obsession, heartbreak, and sacrifice in her debut, crafting a story that's both enveloping and expansive. Usami's writing is thrilling and deft, and her novel illuminates the shadows cloaking our digital lives, leaving us with honesty and grace in equal measures. Idol, Burning is a barnburner and a prayer and a testament to the lengths that we'll go to reach for our dreams."-Bryan Washington, award-winning author of Memorial and Lot
The novel that lit the Japanese publishing world on fire: From a breathtaking up-and-coming writer, a twenty-first century Catcher in the Rye that brilliantly explores toxic fandom, social media, and alienated adolescence.
Akari is a high school student obsessed with "oshi" Masaki Ueno, a member of the popular J-Pop group Maza Maza. She writes a blog devoted to him, and spends hours addictively scrolling for information about him and his life. Desperate to analyze and understand him, Akari hopes to eventually see the world through his eyes. It is a devotion that borders on the religious: Masaki is her savior, her backbone, someone she believes she cannot survive without-even though she's never actually met him.
When rumors surface that her idol assaulted a female fan, social media explodes. Akari immediately begins sifting through everything she can find about the scandal, and shares every detail to her blog-including Masaki's denials and pleas to his fans-drawing numerous readers eager for her updates.
But the organized, knowledgeable persona Akari presents online is totally different from the socially awkward, unfocused teenager she is in real life. As Masaki's situation spirals, his troubles threaten to tear apart her life too. Instead of finding a way to break free to save herself, Akari becomes even more fanatical about Masaki, still believing her idol is the only person who understands her.
A blistering novel of fame, disconnection, obsession, and disillusion by a young writer not much older than the novel's heroine, Idol, Burning shines a white-hot spotlight on fandom and "stan" culture, the money-making schemes of the pop idol industry, the seductive power of social media, and the powerful emotional void that opens when an idol falls from grace, only to become a real-and very flawed-person.
Translated from the Japanese by Asa Yoneda.
"Haunting and sincere, Idol, Burning subverts and astonishes. Rin Usami balances humor, obsession, heartbreak, and sacrifice in her debut, crafting a story that's both enveloping and expansive. Usami's writing is thrilling and deft, and her novel illuminates the shadows cloaking our digital lives, leaving us with honesty and grace in equal measures. Idol, Burning is a barnburner and a prayer and a testament to the lengths that we'll go to reach for our dreams."-Bryan Washington, award-winning author of Memorial and Lot
The novel that lit the Japanese publishing world on fire: From a breathtaking up-and-coming writer, a twenty-first century Catcher in the Rye that brilliantly explores toxic fandom, social media, and alienated adolescence.
Akari is a high school student obsessed with "oshi" Masaki Ueno, a member of the popular J-Pop group Maza Maza. She writes a blog devoted to him, and spends hours addictively scrolling for information about him and his life. Desperate to analyze and understand him, Akari hopes to eventually see the world through his eyes. It is a devotion that borders on the religious: Masaki is her savior, her backbone, someone she believes she cannot survive without-even though she's never actually met him.
When rumors surface that her idol assaulted a female fan, social media explodes. Akari immediately begins sifting through everything she can find about the scandal, and shares every detail to her blog-including Masaki's denials and pleas to his fans-drawing numerous readers eager for her updates.
But the organized, knowledgeable persona Akari presents online is totally different from the socially awkward, unfocused teenager she is in real life. As Masaki's situation spirals, his troubles threaten to tear apart her life too. Instead of finding a way to break free to save herself, Akari becomes even more fanatical about Masaki, still believing her idol is the only person who understands her.
A blistering novel of fame, disconnection, obsession, and disillusion by a young writer not much older than the novel's heroine, Idol, Burning shines a white-hot spotlight on fandom and "stan" culture, the money-making schemes of the pop idol industry, the seductive power of social media, and the powerful emotional void that opens when an idol falls from grace, only to become a real-and very flawed-person.
Translated from the Japanese by Asa Yoneda.
Editorial Reviews
"Rin Usami writes as if under a spell-not evil, but a kind of magic. I can't wait to read her next work, to see how the spell evolves. New writers should never feel they are boxed in. they should continually stretch and redefine the boundaries of the novel. [Idol, Burning] is the right kind of magic." - Sayaka Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings
"A voice crying out in darkness - captures the loneliness, the fervor and the all-consuming escapism of idol fan culture and how it provides comfort and fuel for youth struggling in every other part of their daily lives. Absolutely riveting." - Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face
"Haunting and sincere, Idol, Burning subverts and astonishes. Rin Usami balances humor, obsession, heartbreak, and sacrifice in her English debut, crafting a story that's both enveloping and expansive. Usami's writing is thrilling and deft, and her novel illuminates the shadows cloaking our digital lives, leaving us with honesty and grace in equal measures. Idol, Burning is a barnburner and a prayer and a testament to the lengths that we'll go to reach for our dreams." - Bryan Washington, award-winning author of Memorialand Lot
"A poignant exploration of fandom culture and escapism. Idol, Burning offers a compelling and thoughtful window into obsession, loneliness, and reasons to live. I stan." - Emily Austin, author of Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead
"Akari's obsession is fatalistic and intense, and Usami's prose (translated by Asa Yoneda) renders it and the hold it has on her tenuous life ably and affectingly. . . . it will especially resonate with readers familiar with real-life superfandoms such as One Direction's at the height of its fame, down to details such as sought-after exclusive merch and hateful online comments sections. A short, engrossing novel that captures the essence of obsessive fandom."
- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"What's impressive about this novel is the author's a...
"A voice crying out in darkness - captures the loneliness, the fervor and the all-consuming escapism of idol fan culture and how it provides comfort and fuel for youth struggling in every other part of their daily lives. Absolutely riveting." - Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face
"Haunting and sincere, Idol, Burning subverts and astonishes. Rin Usami balances humor, obsession, heartbreak, and sacrifice in her English debut, crafting a story that's both enveloping and expansive. Usami's writing is thrilling and deft, and her novel illuminates the shadows cloaking our digital lives, leaving us with honesty and grace in equal measures. Idol, Burning is a barnburner and a prayer and a testament to the lengths that we'll go to reach for our dreams." - Bryan Washington, award-winning author of Memorialand Lot
"A poignant exploration of fandom culture and escapism. Idol, Burning offers a compelling and thoughtful window into obsession, loneliness, and reasons to live. I stan." - Emily Austin, author of Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead
"Akari's obsession is fatalistic and intense, and Usami's prose (translated by Asa Yoneda) renders it and the hold it has on her tenuous life ably and affectingly. . . . it will especially resonate with readers familiar with real-life superfandoms such as One Direction's at the height of its fame, down to details such as sought-after exclusive merch and hateful online comments sections. A short, engrossing novel that captures the essence of obsessive fandom."
- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"What's impressive about this novel is the author's a...
Readers Top Reviews
Dinanand
Idol Burning is a short novel focusing on the obsession that high school student Akari has for the boy band member Masaki. Masaki is Akari's "Oshi" or idol and she is not ashamed of her obsession, her post, her votes on line for his success. However, when Masaki assaults a fan, Akari needs to make some choices - what will she decide? I love learning about teen culture - as a high school teacher it's very interesting. I thought this novel truly transcended nationality - it certainly could have been one of my own students. If you like a twisty obsessive story, want to get into a high school girl's mind, or just love new and creative writing, Idol, Burning is for you!
