Title: The Dancer in the Desert Dust
Subtitle: A Novel of Seduction and Becoming
Series: Japanesque TS
Author: Yulia Yu. Sakurazawa
Kojiro Suzuki, a young, unassuming Japanese businessman, finds his meticulously planned life upended by an unexpected business trip to the intoxicating chaos of India. Overwhelmed by the vibrant culture and intense business dealings, he is utterly unprepared for the encounter that will shatter his world: a mesmerizing dancer glimpsed under the Rajasthani stars, a figure of impossible grace and allure.
Seduced not just by desire but by a world unseen, Kojiro is drawn into the ancient and complex society of India’s hijra – individuals living outside conventional gender lines, often known as a third gender, operating under their own rules, rituals, and intricate hierarchies. Under the powerful gaze of the dancer Sangeeta, his Guru, Kojiro sheds his old identity, embracing the name Lala and undergoing profound rites, including the irreversible nirvan, that reshape body and soul.
From the opulent palaces and dusty streets of Rajasthan to the hidden, high-stakes world of a secret Mumbai club where dancers are auctioned like precious jewels, Lala’s journey is one of survival, submission, and unexpected belonging. But India is only the beginning. Sold and transported across the globe, Lala must navigate further transformations – physical and social – striving for love and stability in the vastly different landscapes of America and, eventually, back in Japan.
The Dancer in the Desert Dust is a haunting, evocative novel that explores the fluidity of identity, the complexities of love and devotion across cultures, and the enduring power of a past that can never be fully escaped. It’s a story of profound becoming, asking what remains when everything you thought you were is stripped away.