Shūmatsu no fūru (終末のフール) - Kotaro Isaka

A novel by Kotaro Isaka who is well-known for works such as "Jyuryoku Piero (重力ピエロ)", "Shinigami no Seido (死神の精度, Accuracy of Death in English)" and "Ahiru to Kamo no Coin Locker (アヒルと鴨のコインロッカー)". Some of you may have watched the film versions of the above titles.

"Shūmatsu no fūru" comprises of 8 short stories, each of which features a different family living in the apartment complex called "Hills Town" located in Sendai, Miyagi. The story takes place in the world where an asteroid is said to strike Earth in 3 years and kill all the living creatures present.

Despite the unique setting, the story does not focus on the asteroid or the fear it caused amongst people. The author has chosen the time period after 5 years the initial public announcement of the incoming asteroid was made. After 5 years, all the craze and chaos that have been taking place around the world are winding down as we humans cannot live in the state of panic forever. People have come to accept and face the destiny that they only have 3 more years to live and are trying and find the productive use of the time. As a result, people are finding themselves in this peculiar temporary state of peace, which they know will come to an end as the judgment day draws closer.

In this rather strange context, people are struggling to re-discover what really matters in their lives. Many things they thought they have valued prior to the announcement such as money, career and fame no longer carry much meaning. The common question all the characters are facing is how and with who they want to spend their lives. Our society has grown so complex and so have our lives. It is at times quite challenging to figure out what you are really after in your own life. Isaka has done a fantastic job demonstrating what life is and should be about when you remove all the distractions and strip it down to its fundamentals by employing a rather dramatic plot.

I highly recommend this book but I believe there is only a Japanese version of this book available at the moment. Hopefully it will be available in other languages soon. Or they may decide to make this into a movie in the near future like they did with some of his past works.