“Trinity, Trinity, Trinity” by Erika Kobayashi (translated by Brian Bergstrom)

Today, I attended a fantastic event hosted by Yuki featuring Erika Kobayashi and Brian Bergstrom. About a year ago, when I talked with Brian, he told me that there is a superb artist and writer called Erika Kobayashi. Her name has always been on my radar ever since. I was impressed by her aspects of a scientist and researcher as well as her versatility of being a visual artist, cartoonist, writer.

The story was published in 2019. Reflecting on what has happened in Japan, this book already provided us with various premonitions which are accurate enough to make us even a bit frightened. The main plot is an attempted terrorist attack by an old man who is afflicted with a disease called “Trinity” before the Tokyo Olympics of 2020. It is intertwined inextricably with the Great East Japan Earthquake, World War II, and atomic bombs. The author succeeds in evoking gripping visual images through her crafted sentences and unique word choices.