The Moment a Crack Appeared
- sonokoobuchi
- Apr 13
- 2 min read
'Hibi - A Crack' by Sonoko Obuchi
I did not plan to write this book.
It started with a feeling I could not ignore. Quiet, but persistent. I was still living my normal life. Teaching, making work, being with my family, doing everything I was supposed to do.
But something felt slightly off.
In Japanese, hibi can mean everyday life. It can also mean a crack.
That word stayed with me.
The story grew from that small shift. The kind you cannot easily explain. Nothing dramatic has happened, but something inside you is no longer sitting in the same place.
I chose fiction because I needed distance. It allowed me to explore it more honestly.
The protagonist is a Japanese mother living in London. But this is not really a story about nationality, or even about motherhood.
It is about that quiet space many of us enter at some point.
The moment when you realise you have been holding everything together for a long time. When you start to question where you are in your own life. When something inside you begins to move, even if nothing around you changes.
I think many people will recognise her.
Not exactly as she is, but in pieces.
You might see her in yourself. Or in someone close to you. A friend, a partner, a parent. Someone who looks completely fine on the outside, but is carrying something unspoken.
That is where this story sits.
Not in big events, but in the quiet shifts that are easy to overlook.
The writing felt very close to how I make art. It came in fragments. Small moments, emotions, pauses. Things that do not always connect neatly, but feel true.
I did not want to resolve everything.
I just wanted to stay with that feeling, and see where it leads.
My first fictional short story 'Hibi - A Crack' will be launching on 26th April.
The Kindle edition is now available for pre-order on Amazon:
And all other countries through regional Amazon sites, please search for ‘Sonoko Obuchi’.
The printed book will be available from 26th April.
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