It's no coincidence that the Chinese character chosen to represent the most expressive sentiment of the year in Japan, one that signifies hope after disaster and misery, was kizuna, meaning a bond of fraternity. Bystanders gather at the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto to watch as the iconic kanji is drawn by a priest wielding a giant calligraphy brush.
In the timely named "Kizuna: Fiction for Japan," we have a work that is both real and immaterial, a book that can be switched on and off, its pixels massing, then just as easily vaporizing with the brush of fingertips over a touch screen. If this suggests vapidity, it is a delight to discover that, although you may not be able to feel the physical density and heft of this digital book, its contents, dedicated to the victims of the March 3, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, have verifiable weight and substance.
You may not be familiar with all the contributors to this anthology, although the name Michael Moorcock is one that most readers will know. Over 70 writers from all parts of the globe have donated their time and creativity to this collection of new, previously unpublished work.