Swallows

Kirino (Real World) serves up an entertaining and thought-provoking burlesque of the fertility industry in Tokyo. Office temp Riki Ōishi, 29, hopes to raise money by donating her eggs. During an interview with a reproductive agency, she’s offered a far more lucrative opportunity: to serve as a surrogate mother for the agency’s wealthy middle-aged clients Motoi and Yuko Kusaoke. Motoi, a former ballet star, is determined at all costs to pass on his genes. Despite being torn on whether to sacrifice her bodily autonomy in exchange for financial stability, Riki agrees to meet the Kusaokes to discuss the arrangement. It’s a sacrifice for the couple, too, especially Yuko, whose IVF treatments failed, because according to Japanese law they must divorce and Riki must marry Motoi before she can be artificially inseminated. The parties come to terms, though, for the unthinkable sum of 10 million yen. Riki then chafes at Motoi’s demands and blows a great deal of the down payment on a male sex worker. Yuko, meanwhile, has increasing doubts about the arrangement, especially after Riki gets pregnant and tells Yuko that she’s not sure the child is Motoi’s. Kirino builds tension with surprising twists as each of the three main characters contends with their shifting feelings about parenthood. This will keep readers glued to the page. Agent: Amanda Urban, CAA. (Sept.)