Near the start of Izumi Suzuki’s Set My Heart on Fire , its 24-year-old protagonist ruminates on her failed past relationships and her future chances of finding love. She asks herself: “Who could be honest with a monstrous woman like me?” Izumi – the author’s fictional namesake – is blunt, pleasure-seeking and bracingly honest, but by no means “monstrous”. Instead, every man she encounters over the course of the novel suitably fits that description.
This early introspection hints at the deep melancholy that underpins Suzuki’s 70s Tokyo-set story , where, despite a rapidly changing society, women are still punished for their desire and men are rarely judged for theirs. Set My Heart on Fire was originally published in Japanese in 1983, three years before this author’s death. It was one of the 10 publications which saw Suzuki become a cult figure on her home turf.
After translations of the acidly funny, warped sci-fi story collections Terminal Boredom and Hit Parade of Tears became surprise sensations, this is her third posthumous translation into English (again by Helen O’Horan), continuing to mark her out as a rediscovered literary gem. When we first meet the novel’s protagonist, Izumi is an under-employed model, for whom three days of work a month is enough to fund her drug-fuelled, revelry-inclined lifestyle. She frequents underground clubs and bars with her music hack friend Etsuko, where they mingle with musicians, the only type of person either is .