It was this novel, along with Koji Suzuki’s Ring series that began the J-Horror boom. A page-turner about the rebellion of mitochondria, it became the Japan Horror Novel Award’s first winner and the inspiration for a videogame that became a hit. At the centre of the novel is Eve, initially just a microscopic entity who later questions thever in meaning of life, harking the philosophical musings of Ghosts in the Shell. Once Eve tastes the fruit of free will and love, science proves powerless to her infection.

When Dr. Nagashima loses his wife in a mysterious car crash, he is overwhelmed with grief but also an eerie sense of purpose; he becomes obsessed with the idea that he must reincarnate his dead wife. Her donated kidney is transplanted into a young girl with a debilitating disorder, but the doctor also feels compelled to keep a small sample of her liver in his laboratory. When these cells start mutating rapidly, a consciousness bent on determining its own fate awakes from an eonic sleep

As blood flowed into the kidney, some seeped out of the needle hole where the renal artery had been joined, but it soon stopped after some pressure was applied. The transplanted kidney accepted Mariko’s blood and everyone watched as it reddened and regained surface tension. Yoshizumi rubbed it to encourage circulation. He had witnessed this scene numerous times in his career, but never had he seen such dramatic revival. The organ appeared literally to be coming back to life in Mariko’s body.

I gave the book a go and I loved the detailed medical descriptions – especially in the early chapters. You’ll learn everything there is to know about kidney transplants and how mitochondria works.
This is not a book for the squeamish. If you are, put it down and move on.

Filled with scientific acuity and existential challenges, this medical fantasmagoria is a disorienting look into consciousness and will have you questioning the future of human evolution. New life begins at the cellular level, but when that cell contains restless mitochondria, it will aspire to be much more than just a speck in a Petri dish.

Downside: Can be hard to understand the pharmaceutical terms but a very emotional and horrifying story. Lots of terms that I was not expecting, but along with being entertained by the horror elements I found I was learning a lot about mitochondrial Eve. I also learned a lot about kidney disorders and organ transplantation. I’m so happy that I got the chance to read this book. I really enjoyed the movie and the video game, but this book did not disappoint.

Originally published in Japanese as Parasaito Ibu by Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo 1995