The Changeling

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” — Kenzaburō Ōe, The Changeling

Part 1: The Mysterious Tape

The novel opens with Kogito Choko, a renowned writer in his sixties, receiving a package from his childhood friend and brother-in-law, Goro Hanawa, a famous filmmaker. Inside is a set of audio tapes labeled “For Kogito When I’m Gone.” When Kogito listens, he hears Goro’s voice confessing, “I’m going to head over to the other side now,” followed by the sound of a gunshot. Shocked, Kogito later learns that Goro has indeed committed suicide. This event plunges Kogito into a deep psychological and emotional crisis as he grapples with the loss and the cryptic message.

Part 2: Memories and Ghosts

Kogito begins reflecting on his lifelong friendship with Goro, tracing back to their childhood in a remote village in Shikoku. Their bond was forged through shared trauma—Goro’s abusive father and Kogito’s own family struggles. As Kogito listens to more tapes, Goro’s voice seems to engage him in a one-sided dialogue, blurring the line between memory and the supernatural. Kogito’s wife, Chikashi (Goro’s sister), also struggles with grief, further complicating their strained marriage.

Part 3: The Changeling Myth

The title refers to Goro, whom Kogito increasingly sees as a “changeling”—a substitute for his own unresolved guilt and artistic failures. Kogito revisits their collaborative projects, including an unfinished film adaptation of one of his novels. Flashbacks reveal Goro’s hidden depression and his belief that Kogito had “stolen” his creative vitality. Meanwhile, Kogito’s son, Akari (a mentally disabled musician), becomes an unexpected source of solace, his innocence contrasting with the intellectual torment of the adults.

Part 4: The Other Side

Kogito travels to Berlin for a literary conference, where he confronts his own mortality and artistic legacy. In solitude, he continues his imagined conversations with Goro, questioning whether his friend’s suicide was an act of defiance or surrender. The tapes reveal Goro’s resentment toward Kogito’s success, as well as his own feelings of artistic inadequacy. Kogito realizes that Goro’s death was both a personal tragedy and a symbolic rejection of the burdens of creativity.

Part 5: Reconciliation

Returning to Japan, Kogito and Chikashi begin to heal, acknowledging that Goro’s ghost will always haunt them but no longer control them. Kogito decides to write a novel about their friendship, accepting that some questions—like why Goro sent the tapes—will never be answered. The book ends with Kogito listening to the final tape, where Goro whispers, “Now you’re the changeling,” leaving the reader to ponder the cyclical nature of guilt and artistic inheritance.

Key Ideas

• The weight of artistic legacy and creative rivalry
• The blurred boundaries between memory, reality, and the supernatural
• Suicide as both personal act and cultural commentary
• The “changeling” as a metaphor for unresolved guilt and identity
• The redemptive power of familial love amidst trauma