[1] It received inspiration from the Aum Shinrikyo cult and their Tokyo subway sarin attack of 1995.
[4] Scott Esposito of the Los Angeles Times said that the translation "wasn't much admired by English-speaking reviewers".
[3] Christopher Tayler of The Guardian said that the "sprawling" Somersault received "widespread criticism".
"[2] Steven Poole of The Guardian said, "And yet, for all its longueurs, one finishes Somersault [sic] convinced that buried within the sprawling text is a brilliant, much shorter novel.
"[4] Eric Hanson of the Star Tribune said the novel "would be an underwhelming and unsatisfying read, no matter the writer.