“Astute individuals may catch on if they see the cover, so you can't look at it. When you finish the book, you can take a look. […] The cover itself is a spoiler.”
Kojima read The Anomaly in February 2022 and ranked it by far his number one of the year. He highlighted a detail of the Japanese Hayakawa edition: the red dust jacket with its blurb explicitly asks readers not to investigate anything about the book because the original cover underneath is itself a spoiler, and astute readers could connect the dots if they see it, so it should not be looked at until the book is finished. He described the work as literary art that breaks the norm — literature usually does not have plot, this is different — and said that in part 2 it becomes science fiction. He likened it to Kobo Abe, whom he loves, and warned that the theme of the ending is a bit dark.
“I read one of his work this past February called The Anomaly, and this was, by far, number one. […] It says you're not allowed to do research on it. […] if you take off the cover, you'll see the original one. […] It's like Kobo Abe's work, which I love. […] The end theme is a bit dark though.”