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tripleheaven's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
charlotterie's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
5.0
A True Novel
First of all, the highest praise to Juliet Winters Carpenter and Ann Sherif, whose translation of “A True Novel” sets the bar higher for literature in translation. So often books translated from Japanese have a stiff, quaint feel, but their work on “A True Novel” is gorgeous; fluid, emotionally true. The characters spring off the page, completely realistic and believable whether they wear kimono or jeans.
“A True Novel” is being touted as a retelling of “Wuthering Heights,” which is only part of the story. Don’t get too into this or you’ll go nuts trying to figure out who is Mr. Lockwood or Nelly Dean or Mr. Earnshaw. Can this really be Cathy? The story flits back and forth in time, making harder to settle on a single candidate for the role. Is it the author, who cleverly places herself in the narrative? When you see who it will be (neatly revealed at the end of the first volume) you’ll be compelled to wonder how that’s going to work as you crack volume two.
Set in Japan and New York at the end of World War II, the story is beautifully reeled out to include characters from various classes and levels of education, from different regions and with varying degrees of Westernization. The two volumes give it that Victorian novel vibe.
But this book is not like anything else I’ve read. I felt as though I had entered a new world, where the emotions were universal but the setting was rare. I highly recommend “A True Novel” to anyone who loves fiction filled with nuance and truth. Minae Mizumura has written several other novels, and I hope translations are in the works.
First of all, the highest praise to Juliet Winters Carpenter and Ann Sherif, whose translation of “A True Novel” sets the bar higher for literature in translation. So often books translated from Japanese have a stiff, quaint feel, but their work on “A True Novel” is gorgeous; fluid, emotionally true. The characters spring off the page, completely realistic and believable whether they wear kimono or jeans.
“A True Novel” is being touted as a retelling of “Wuthering Heights,” which is only part of the story. Don’t get too into this or you’ll go nuts trying to figure out who is Mr. Lockwood or Nelly Dean or Mr. Earnshaw. Can this really be Cathy? The story flits back and forth in time, making harder to settle on a single candidate for the role. Is it the author, who cleverly places herself in the narrative? When you see who it will be (neatly revealed at the end of the first volume) you’ll be compelled to wonder how that’s going to work as you crack volume two.
Set in Japan and New York at the end of World War II, the story is beautifully reeled out to include characters from various classes and levels of education, from different regions and with varying degrees of Westernization. The two volumes give it that Victorian novel vibe.
But this book is not like anything else I’ve read. I felt as though I had entered a new world, where the emotions were universal but the setting was rare. I highly recommend “A True Novel” to anyone who loves fiction filled with nuance and truth. Minae Mizumura has written several other novels, and I hope translations are in the works.
notallbooks_mp's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
patihato's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mankalita's review
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kayaque's review
inspiring
relaxing
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? No
5.0
dominika_zimny's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
ambi_dexter_writes's review against another edition
5.0
Oh how I absolutely loved this book from start to finish! It's a pity it took me 4 whole months to get through the book because school got in the way. If I could I would have spent just 2 whole weeks pouring myself through the book like crazy.
I found the storytelling technique to be very interesting and something rather unique. Mizumura cleverly develops Yutsuke as a whole catalyst for the story to flow. He then becomes directly linked to Fumiko, who is the absolute perfect character to be telling the story of Taro, the Three Witches (hehe I loved this nickname) and her own life. Taro would probably have never retold his story; I suppose he would have been so bound by the pain and the desire to cut all ties with Japan and his past life that he would never have opened up to Yutsuke the way Fumiko did. The Three Witches would probably have lamented about Yuko's episodes and their loss of the property. Interestingly, Mizumura cleverly has Fuyue come in as a counterpoint to help us question the credibility of Fumiko as a person and as a narrator.
The story itself really is a gem. It gave so much insight into the development of Japan since post war, and made me fall in love with Karuizawa. Tbh, Karuizawa reminds me of Ipoh; even the way the families live there and have their parties and all remind me of my family. In some ways, I see various aspects of the characters in my own family members, which is quite the surprise.
All in all, this was a good read. An orgasmic one, even.
I found the storytelling technique to be very interesting and something rather unique. Mizumura cleverly develops Yutsuke as a whole catalyst for the story to flow. He then becomes directly linked to Fumiko, who is the absolute perfect character to be telling the story of Taro, the Three Witches (hehe I loved this nickname) and her own life. Taro would probably have never retold his story; I suppose he would have been so bound by the pain and the desire to cut all ties with Japan and his past life that he would never have opened up to Yutsuke the way Fumiko did. The Three Witches would probably have lamented about Yuko's episodes and their loss of the property. Interestingly, Mizumura cleverly has Fuyue come in as a counterpoint to help us question the credibility of Fumiko as a person and as a narrator.
The story itself really is a gem. It gave so much insight into the development of Japan since post war, and made me fall in love with Karuizawa. Tbh, Karuizawa reminds me of Ipoh; even the way the families live there and have their parties and all remind me of my family. In some ways, I see various aspects of the characters in my own family members, which is quite the surprise.
All in all, this was a good read. An orgasmic one, even.
natasha29singh's review against another edition
4.0
It’s not fair to call this just a ‘story inside a story’ – this is the Russian-nesting-doll of stories. I generally enjoy “plotless” stories where the journey of a person or household is traced over the years (think [b:The Waiting Years|177404|The Waiting Years|Fumiko Enchi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348939847l/177404._SX50_.jpg|535360] or [b:The Makioka Sisters|34449|The Makioka Sisters|Jun'ichirō Tanizaki|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637632255l/34449._SY75_.jpg|841208]) so I didn’t mind the accounts of the characters’ lives so much, but I think the part for which there was so much build up – the life of Taro “Heathcliff” Azuma, a man as toxic as he is sexy – kind of failed to deliver. The entire arc with him simping and the other one happily getting cucked (over Yoko?? of all people? please be serious) just seems implausible. I did enjoy the ten-odd pages in the middle of the book which got unbelievably meta, and the [b:Wuthering Heights|6185|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388212715l/6185._SY75_.jpg|1565818] essence makes it a compelling read (you will never catch me disrespecting [a:Emily Brontë|4191|Emily Brontë|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1529578586p2/4191.jpg].) And the author added a little bonus twist at the end! Fantastic for such a long read, and an awesome job on the translation by [a:Juliet Winters Carpenter|666511|Juliet Winters Carpenter|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].