“Outlet is a sexually charged and intriguing New Age mystery that is smart and well paced.”
—Library Journal
Outlet
By Randy Taguchi
Translated by Glynne Walley
Fiction/Spirituality
Paperback, 272 pages, 5.5 x 8.25 inches
978-1-932234-04-6 / 1-932234-04-7
U.S.$15.95 / CAN$20.95
Where would a shaman fit into modern society? Are trance states to be dismissed simply as fits of madness? Is the buffoonery of psychic hotlines all that the modern world has left of spiritual intuition? Randy Taguchi’s upbeat riff on modern spirituality, her first novel, is a psychological detective story that seeks to answer these questions.
A bracingly secular exploration of heightened awareness, Taguchi’s English-language debut is a page-turner that weds New Age spirituality with the classic mystery form.
Randy Taguchi became famous through word of mouth as an Internet columnist in her native Japan, where Outlet became a bestseller along with its sequels, Antenna and Mosaic. She lives in Yugawara, Japan, near Atami.
Outlet Reading Guide
“Ms. Taguchi is a natural story-teller… In Outlet, Ms. Taguchi combines theories of psychology, Freudianism, family dynamics, and spiritualism to conjure up a story that is hard to resist. Yuki appears to be a Dostoyevskian character: a blend of Alyosha the saint, Dmitri the gentle, and Ivan the scoffer.”
—RALPH
UTNE Book Club of ’04 selection:
“Heady mix of sex, spirituality, and mystery.”
“Her sexual encounters may have a healing power… and the novel’s dark twists and turns should keep readers hooked until the surprising climax.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Indeed, stateside pop fiction magnates could take a lesson or five from writers like Randy Taguchi.”
—Bookslut
“Shamanism and magical realism collide with life in this bestselling first novel by Randy Taguchi.”
—SFRevu
