_book_cover.jpg) Cover of Japanese edition | |
| Author | Hitomi Kanehara |
|---|---|
| Original title | 蛇にピアス (Hebi ni piasu) |
| Translator | David Karashima |
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre | Literary fiction |
| Publisher | Shueisha (Japan), Dutton (US), Vintage Books (UK) |
Publication date | 2004 |
| Publication place | Japan |
Published in English | 2005 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 124 |
| Awards | Akutagawa Prize |
| ISBN | 9784087746839 |
Snakes and Earrings (蛇にピアス, Hebi ni Piasu) is a Japanese novel by Hitomi Kanehara. The story follows Lui, a young woman in Tokyo whose fascination with body modification and sadomasochistic sexual activity drives her to make increasingly dangerous personal choices. First published in 2003 in the literary magazine Shōsetsu Subaru as the winner of the 27th Subaru Literary Prize, the novel was republished in 2004 after winning the 130th Akutagawa Prize.
Though Snakes and Earrings received mixed reviews, popular and academic critics have noted its significance in contemporary Japanese literature, not only for its authentic portrayal of post-bubble Japanese youth culture, but also for the controversial commercialization of its author's personal life. The novel has sold more than a million copies in Japan, has been translated into sixteen languages, and was adapted into a 2008 Yukio Ninagawa film starring Yuriko Yoshitaka.