Reviewed on December 25, 2022
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Review
“One summer morning before school, Kaoru hears an unsettling rumor–of a mysterious tunnel that can grant any wish to those who enter it, but ages them dramatically in exchange. At first, he writes it off as nothing more than an urban legend, but that very night, he happens upon the selfsame passage: the Urashima Tunnel. As he stands before its gaping maw, a thought occurs to him–if this tunnel truly does have the power to grant any wish, could he use it to bring his younger sister back from her untimely death five years prior?
Yet when he returns to explore the tunnel the next day, he finds he’s been followed by the new girl in class: a total enigma by the name of Anzu. She takes an interest in Kaoru, and they agree to work together to investigate the time-twisting tunnel and uncover its mysteries. Together, they might achieve their deepest desires…but are they prepared for what it may cost them?” – Synopsis on Back Cover
Although The Tunnel to Summer’s premise is quite simplistic and its narrative will inevitably bring up comparisons to other stories like Your Name, there’s something engaging about how Mei Hachimoku handles her characters. With playful dialogue and keen narration in both high school shenanigans and existential thought, this book is a solid read for anyone who likes an intimate story set in a contemporary reality with a science-fiction twist—even if its ending may falter in its focus.
The first thing that surprised me about this book was how much reality seeps into the experience; although the Urashima Tunnel is a great hook, I found myself genuinely enjoying how grounded the narrative was to our own world. It’s almost to a point where I thought the latter half’s focus on the science-fiction aspects intruded on the characters and developments that were being made.
For instance, the first half feels like the young adult romance novel that I’m used to reading—which is not bad by any means. In fact, this was my favorite part of the book: seeing Kaoru Tono and the mysterious Anzu Hanashiro interact and gradually understand each other was more interesting than the result of their relationship. The latter half, as mentioned before, is where the book’s sci-fi aspects and existential themes take over. Though still impactful and beautifully written, the concepts surrounding the Urashima Tunnel end up betraying the atmosphere and progression that the first half established. In other words, there’s a disconnect between the “romance” and “science fiction”, to which neither aspect is fully explored: if you wanted slice-of-life, all of it is lost by the latter half; if you wanted science fiction, most of it is only found in the latter half. This is likely why I found the ending of the book to be oddly distant and unfulfilling.
Besides this, I had a few nitpicks here and there: I thought the book dedicated a bit too much time on a certain side character; Anzu’s characterization and personality is all over the place, even though she’s my favorite character; dialogue can feel a bit preachy, though that’s mostly because Hachimoku is not afraid to delve deep into the psychology and tensions of these characters.
All in all, The Tunnel to Summer is not necessarily a monumental or essential read, but I think there’s something worth experiencing here—after all, I couldn’t get myself to put down the book and finished it in a single day, without realizing how much time passed (I was quite spooked when the author’s afterword quite literally described my experience). This book is an amazing start for Mei Hachimoku (as this is her first novel!) and I’m excited to read her other works soon.
Verdict
EYE KINDA LIKE
CRITICAL RATING: 7/10
THE TUNNEL TO A SIMPLE BUT ENGAGING EXPERIENCE:
Although its premise is quite simplistic and its narrative will inevitably bring up comparisons to other stories like Your Name, there’s something engaging about this book’s world and characters. With playful dialogue and keen narration in both high school shenanigans and existential thought, this book is a solid read for anyone who likes an intimate story set in a contemporary reality with a science-fiction twist—even if its ending may falter in its focus –
CRITICAL EYE 