ABSTRACT
Somersault is an inordinately long novel, tedious in its repetitions, a point endorsed by the translator, Philip Gabriel in his critical study of the novel.1
Had O - e reduced Somersault by half, its impact would have been greater and
the reader’s exacerbation lessened. In what is a novel of serious purpose, O - e
addresses two themes: the formation and subsequent implosion of a religious cult and the aims and fanaticism of a terrorist cell. The protagonist and founder of the cult is a man known only as Patron. He is a latter-day messiah proclaiming that spiritual pollution and the wholesale despoliation of the Earth have become mankind’s legacy of evil and that the people of all nations should now repent and wait for life to end on Earth. Far from being apocalyptic, Patron’s vision of the end is simply one of attrition leading to extinction:
It’s a picture of a medium-sized provincial city here in Japan. The afternoon sun is shining down on the scene, but it’s entirely desolate. No dogs wandering around. No napping cats. The streets are filthy with garbage, but the amount remains the same; no garbage has been freshly discarded. All manufacturing facilities have been stopped. The people haven’t been completely eliminated yet but are living off the remains of what’s been manufactured and not replacing them once they’re used up. There’s no electricity, no running water, no public transportation. Everyone’s waiting for death in inconspicuous corners of this city, lying there, curled up, helpless babies once again, bereft of the skills needed to live.2
