When the Museum Is Closed

Rika Horiuchi’s new part-time job is to converse with a statue of the Venus de Milo – in Latin – every Monday, when the museum is closed. Initially reluctant, Rika starts to enjoy her strange new job: she and Venus talk about everything. They fall in love, and (with the help of a statue of Artemis’ hunting dog) eventually break free. This fresh and original new novel from the author of ‘Diary of a Void’ confirms Emi Yagi as one of the most exciting Japanese writers published in English today.