[1] Translated by David Boyd, an Assistant Professor of Japanese at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte,[2] the novel was published in 2020 by New Directions.

[6][10] Other symbols that hint at the underlying theme of transformation is the overwhelming influence of cicadas[6] and the intense change in seasons after Asahi's move.

[5] Asahi makes few friends in her new life as a housewife,[7][11] and her brother-in-law is a hikikomori who is neglected by everyone in the town, including his own family which never even speaks of his existence.

[8] Asahi plays the role of Alice with her brother-in-law being a self-declared white rabbit, although other interpretations compare him more to a mad hatter.

[7] Much like Carroll's novel, after the protagonist falls in the hole, the reader is left to decide which details of the story exist in reality and which are figments of the character's imagination.

[4] Another review, published by the Japanese magazine Metropolis, notes Oyamada's ability to create these mysteries with seemingly no clear ending as one of her greatest strengths.