Praise for the collection has highlighted its unique power:

| | Details | | :--- | :--- | | Author | Yoko Ogawa (Yōko Ogawa) | | Original Title | Daibingu pūru , Ninshin karendā , Domitorii (ダイヴィング・プール, 妊娠カレンダー, ドミトリイ) | | Original Publication | 1990/1991 (Japan) | | English Translation | 2008 (Picador, translated by Stephen Snyder) | | Genre | Psychological Horror, Magical Realism, Surrealism | | Pages | 164–176 (depending on edition) | | ISBN (English) | 9780099521358 |

Jun is the object of Aya’s gaze. She never speaks to him meaningfully; she only watches. His swimming becomes a silent performance for her alone. Ogawa inverts the typical male-gaze theory: here, a teenage girl objectifies a younger boy, reducing him to a body in water. Yet the power is not sexual in a celebratory way—it is predatory and possessive. When Jun’s body moves through the water, Aya experiences not desire but a cold sense of ownership.

If you are a reader looking for a narrative that will challenge you, unsettle you, and linger in your mind long after the final page, this is an essential work by a truly singular literary voice.

The final story shifts slightly in tone but maintains the atmosphere of unease. It is about a single woman living a life of solitude and routine.

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