A long time ago, when genetically modified soybeans became a big topic, a researcher told me, “Genetically modified food is not as bad as people think.”

Because a researcher said it, I thought it might be true. But I still wanted to choose food that was not genetically modified. New things have many unknown parts. I did not want to eat something I did not understand well.

I read One-Dimensional Cuttings by Ryunosuke Matsushita.

At first, I thought, “This is fantasy.” But as I kept reading, that idea slowly changed.

Hydrangeas, plant cuttings, human bones, clones. They look unrelated, but in the story they slowly connect. Before I knew it, I was caught inside that web of connections.

There were moments when I thought, “Maybe this is what is happening.” But the story went far beyond my guesses, and my heart beat fast.

It felt like I was sinking into a deep sea of fear.

After I finished the book, I suddenly realized something. This story is not only fantasy. Maybe it is something we could do with today’s technology. At that moment, the fear in the story came close to the real world, and I felt a cold shiver.

The strange things in the fiction felt like they were reaching into our world.

I was also surprised that this book did not win the Mystery Writers Award. Then what kind of story is the winner, The Mysterious Smell Comes from the Bakery? The cute cover does not tell me anything. Maybe it hides something strange inside everyday life.

One-Dimensional Cuttings slowly blurs the line between real and unreal. It shows how fragile “ordinary life” can be. Even now, my heart still feels a little unsettled.