Riko, the novel’s protagonist and narrator, marries young. When her husband cheats on her, she sees “two paths” forward: “Either follow my many sisters who have striven to lay claim to the men they loved, or resign myself to the futility of holding a man to his promises.” To Riko’s keen eyes, the first route is built atop “Western ideas of romantic love,” mirages that stand in stark contrast to the more “down-to-earth” approach taken by women in prior generations. Rejecting the notion of a direct path entirely, she proceeds, obliquely and interdimensionally, into fantasy.