Stand - in Companion by Kazufumi Shiraishi

Perhaps if you've recently finished Yoko Tawada's The Last Children of Tokyo and wanted to continue with a book that follows along some similar lines of enquiry that that novel traces, Stand-in Companion by Kazufumi Shiraishi recently published by Red Circle might be of interest. Part of their recent Minis series this short story was translated by Raj Mahtani who sadly passed away last year. Taking place over 43 pages or so the two main characters are Hayato and Yutori the narrative skips between present and past episodes and as the story begins to unfold comes the realization that the reader maybe dealing with a multiple of Hayato and Yutori, old and new, original and copy?. The initial dilemma the pair are facing is their inability to conceive, they turn to IVF and as the narrative curates their slip into dysfunction and separation, the reader is slowly immersed into a world of android stand-in's, when this occurs questions arise of how far is the story set in the future?, Shiraishi's story leaps us into a future where when relationships break down we can turn to a technology of convincingly accurate replacements as an alternative. The story dips into the ethics behind this new android/human world and also the logistics needed with memory transplantation into the replacement android being written into divorce settlements, the story posits a scenario that obviously may arise in the not too distant future. Stand-in Companion is a really compelling and cleverly constructed story that echoes the writings of Yoko Tawada and Tomoyuki Hoshino, a great introduction into the Red Circle Minis series, very much worth tracking down a copy.

Stand-in Companion at Red Circle