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ben_miller's review against another edition
2.0
Like other readers who have posted their thoughts, I wanted to like this book and it disappointed me. To be honest, it's fairly awful. The plot is convoluted and slow-moving (kind of like the 405 on a Friday afternoon, but in this case the imitative fallacy is not working in Yamashita's favor). The structure of the book tries to liven things up, but instead it backfires and prevents us from getting truly involved in any of the 7 narratives. I could give a laundry list of problems here, but the worst transgression is simply that the prose is sloppy and often listless. Scenes are handled ineptly, setting is lazily drawn, and some of the sentences are straight out of Harlequin romance: "Gabe turned on his heels, impassioned anguish embodied in his dark figure..."
It's not all bad news. I liked Bobby's chapters, mainly because he was the only character who really seemed to want something beyond abstractions. Occasionally Yamashita's prose does hit a nice rhythm. The chapter titles were pretty cool.
It's not all bad news. I liked Bobby's chapters, mainly because he was the only character who really seemed to want something beyond abstractions. Occasionally Yamashita's prose does hit a nice rhythm. The chapter titles were pretty cool.
meganruble's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
pangnaolin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Truly adored this book!! I loved the characters deeply and was entranced by the magical realism Yamashita infused into the story, whether directly or between the lines. The plot is winding and confusing, yet incredible, and I was sucked in even more with every sentence I read.
Yamashita explores incredibly difficult topics like immigration, trade between amerikkka and México, savior complexes, class, race, redlining, and more with incredible grace and without shoving the themes directly in your face (for the most part…). It can be a hard read at times, but I’d really recommend this book. The read is worth it.
Yamashita explores incredibly difficult topics like immigration, trade between amerikkka and México, savior complexes, class, race, redlining, and more with incredible grace and without shoving the themes directly in your face (for the most part…). It can be a hard read at times, but I’d really recommend this book. The read is worth it.
miocyon's review against another edition
4.0
Magical realism spread across the stage of LA. I read this as a finalist for the upcoming year’s Common Book, the theme of which is ‘Los Angeles’. It is definitely a Los Angeles novel, following seven residents, of varying backgrounds as they navigate the city that seems to be coming apart at the seems to reveal its underlying roots (to mix metaphors, which this book seems to do a lot). Along the way it touches on ideas about migration, multiculturalism, economic exploitation, inheritance, and more i.e., all the things that make up LA. As such, I kept thinking this book was more recent that it is (1997), because the issues are all still salient today. I loved it for the most part. The characters are distinct, knowable, and likable, and the stage of LA is portrayed in all of its beauty and ugliness. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is that it seems to take on so much for such a small book. The themes and metaphors smash into each other, making the end a bit of a muddled mess.
ajlct's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tessatabea's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
cousinrachel's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 stars
Read this for school. It's one of those books that doesn't focus on plot or characters, but on the Societal Meaning. There wasn't really anyone to sympathize with, and no event sequence that made me want to know what happened next. I liked some of the writing and descriptions, so I tried to like it, but for me, it didn't go anywhere with those.
Unfortunately, the writing went off into odd metaphors, with people turning into various animals among them. I wasn't sure if this was intended to be taken literally or as a meaning for something else. There are fantasy books in which I find the magic believable, but this was written in such an abstract way that the fantasy element was distracting and confusing.
One character in particular called Emi was irritating, as she confronted a total stranger in a restaurant about how speaking Japanese and eating Japanese food (the person was white, of course) is appropriating Japan's culture. This scene was presented as Emi the Minority Warrior putting a clueless, culturally-insensitive, American woman in her place, when actually it was extremely rude and what the woman chose to do was none of Emi's business. In some situations it's appropriate to confront someone about their behavior, but this wasn't one of those situations. This book pushed the idea that you don't need to pick your battles - just self-righteously "call out" people for doing something of which you personally disapprove.
In contemporary literature, there's a strange trend of focusing on body parts and functions. I guess it's supposed to be honest and realistic instead of romantic, but to me it looks like pretentiously overdoing it just to seem "real." In one scene, an old man pulls out his "virile" penis in public, for some reason that other than the pretentious realism was lost on me. Um - who does that in real life and isn't mentally checked-out or a sexual predator?
I made a good effort at enjoying it, but it turned out to be moralizing and confusing, so that I did not care what happened to anyone in the book. Except that how one of them turned out makes me feel a bit smug. :) If you end up being obligated to read this, you have my sympathy.
Read this for school. It's one of those books that doesn't focus on plot or characters, but on the Societal Meaning. There wasn't really anyone to sympathize with, and no event sequence that made me want to know what happened next. I liked some of the writing and descriptions, so I tried to like it, but for me, it didn't go anywhere with those.
Unfortunately, the writing went off into odd metaphors, with people turning into various animals among them. I wasn't sure if this was intended to be taken literally or as a meaning for something else. There are fantasy books in which I find the magic believable, but this was written in such an abstract way that the fantasy element was distracting and confusing.
One character in particular called Emi was irritating, as she confronted a total stranger in a restaurant about how speaking Japanese and eating Japanese food (the person was white, of course) is appropriating Japan's culture. This scene was presented as Emi the Minority Warrior putting a clueless, culturally-insensitive, American woman in her place, when actually it was extremely rude and what the woman chose to do was none of Emi's business. In some situations it's appropriate to confront someone about their behavior, but this wasn't one of those situations. This book pushed the idea that you don't need to pick your battles - just self-righteously "call out" people for doing something of which you personally disapprove.
In contemporary literature, there's a strange trend of focusing on body parts and functions. I guess it's supposed to be honest and realistic instead of romantic, but to me it looks like pretentiously overdoing it just to seem "real." In one scene, an old man pulls out his "virile" penis in public, for some reason that other than the pretentious realism was lost on me. Um - who does that in real life and isn't mentally checked-out or a sexual predator?
I made a good effort at enjoying it, but it turned out to be moralizing and confusing, so that I did not care what happened to anyone in the book. Except that how one of them turned out makes me feel a bit smug. :) If you end up being obligated to read this, you have my sympathy.
jackieeejw's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Tropic of Orange, the off the wall surreal slice-of-life that succeeded in the monumentous task of getting me to care about LA. I bought it for the blurb, which sounded completely insane, but it still managed to catch me off guard after lulling me into a false sense of normalcy in the beginning. Over the course of the novel it progresses from its slice of life intertwining 7 person character drama (which is pretty easy to follow given the constantly shifting perspectives) into a frenetic surreal apocalyptic climax that basically turns to beat poetry in its last third. I think the plot is sometimes lost in these grand, free verse diatribes, and i can imagine it being polarising, but it’s so electrifying that I couldn’t help but love it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deportation, Trafficking, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Colonisation, Racism, and Car accident