A Dictionary Of Mutual Understanding (2015) - Plot & Excerpts
A spider, usually an orb weaver, is given magical powers when it turns four hundred years old. The spider grows into a beautiful woman who lures men to a quiet spot by playing a Japanese lute called a biwa. She then ties up her victim with her silk threads and feasts on him. Sometimes she takes the form of a woman carrying a baby, which may be her egg sac. The word is also the name of a species of spider called Nephila clavata, or golden orb-web spiders such as the joro spider. The captain sent a flurry of gifts to my home after that first night. Each parcel marked a new lesson dispensed by him, a new acquiescence on my part. Mother would watch me receive them, the air rancid with her envy. Much of the jewellery and furs she pawned but she let me keep a coral necklace. The present arrived in a tortoiseshell box with a white rose. She seemed to understand its significance. I was not yet sixteen but Sakamoto had given me a full education. His friendship improved our living standards.
What do You think about A Dictionary Of Mutual Understanding (2015)?
