It's arson, a suspected suicide, but Noriko begins to wonder. After that, Noriko visits her parents for the first time since her marriage and comes back to discover that the man and his entire family died in a fire. He also wants to tell Noriko something important but is interrupted by one of the Shitos before he gets the opportunity. It turns out that the Shitos are his landlords and he hopes to get permission to pay his rent a little late this month. Two months after her marriage to Kazuhito, Noriko's peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of a man from the nearby area. Everyone in the family supports each other, and disagreements are resolved by the family matriarch, Great Granny Ei. It does turn out that Kazuhito wasn't immediately forthcoming about his mentally handicapped younger brother and bedridden grandfather, which Noriko worries is a sign that she'll be roped into being their caretaker, but thankfully that isn't the case. Nobody's personality suddenly changes - everyone is just as friendly as when she and Kazuhito first met. In the end, she agrees to the marriage.Įverything goes well, for a while. It makes Noriko nervous, but Kazuhito is wonderful and everyone in his family seems so nice when she meets them. The marriage's main drawback is that Noriko would be expected to move away from her small town and live with Kazuhito and multiple generations of his family in their home in Tokyo. Some details feels spoiler-y but do come up fairly early in the book.īecause they owe someone money, Noriko's parents agree to consider an arranged marriage between her and Kazuhito Shito. I'm not sure if anything in this review counts as spoilers or not. Now You're One of Us is essentially Japanese gothic fiction.

Now You're One of Us by Asa Nonami