Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

This paper examines, through the lens of trauma theory and care ethics, two novels by Kimura Kumi, exploring the characters’ ambiguous attempts to heal from trauma and compensate for fractured human connections in the aftermath of 3-11 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines two novels by Kimura Kumi within the framework of trauma and post-disaster literature. Both set in Tōhoku, the novels are haunted by the spectre of the 2011 triple disaster. Anata ni anzen-na hito (2021) is a novella about two strangers who, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, find comfort in each other as they grapple with feelings of guilt and fear stemming from traumatic events in their past. On the other hand, set seven years after the tsunami, Kuma wa doko ni iru no (2025) follows the story of four women and their relationship with an unknown child who enters each of their lives, prompting them to confront the trauma engendered by sexual abuse, natural disasters, and the looming threat of bears.

Drawing on trauma theory, this paper investigates how these novels portray the effects of traumatic events and their impact on social relationships. In particular, employing LaCapra’s notions of “acting out” and “working through” (2001), it explores the characters’ response to individual and collective trauma. Building on Herman’s discussion of trauma’s impact on human relationships and their importance in the healing process (2015), and connecting these ideas with care ethics’ emphasis on the centrality of care, the paper examines the novel’s portrayal of isolation and fractured social relationships. Specifically, it explores the characters’ attempts to remedy and compensate for a systemic lack of connection and care. These attempts reveal the interweaving of care and abuse and the porous boundaries between victims and perpetrators, highlighting the profound ambivalence of the characters’ coping mechanisms.

By analysing Anata ni anzen-na hito and Kuma wa doko ni iru no and how their characters both cope with and replicate trauma, this paper contributes to broader discussions of trauma literature and explores the possibility of its intersection with an ethics of care.