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dreiac's review against another edition
3.0
It’s difficult to rate a book with so many short stories. There was a mixture of stories i enjoyed and others not so much, so i’m very much in the middle with this one.
8797999's review against another edition
4.0
A mixed bag of stories, I did discover some I loved and enjoyed very much and some others that were a bit odd, or quite odd in the case of one involving sugar.
Overall a nice collection and introduction to many authors I have yet to experience. That said there were a few stories that I had read previously.
A good collection and well worth the £3.50 I paid for it as a pre-order.
Overall a nice collection and introduction to many authors I have yet to experience. That said there were a few stories that I had read previously.
A good collection and well worth the £3.50 I paid for it as a pre-order.
andrew00's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
andrew_j_r's review
4.0
This book has taken me a while to read - not because it’s bad, but because I tend to read a few short stories between books. I can’t get into short story collections like a novel, I dip in and out of them over a period of time.
This is actually one of the best collections that I have read. It has a very high hit rate - most short story collections are, for me, more miss than hit, but this is definitely the other way round.
The stories vary from three pages to just over seventy. They are grouped together in themes - Japan’s relationship with the West, disasters (natural and man made) and are not presented in chronological order, although there are a number of suggested reading orders and one of those is based around when the stories are set. I read them in theme order as presented in the book.
There are a number of standout tales here. I adored the opening offering, “The Story Of Tomoda and Matsunaga” as well as the grim “Hell Screen” and a tale of people of lived in Hiroshima when the nuclear bomb fell. In fact, as I read the title list I have a distinct memory of most of the stories, most of the time if I looked back through a list of titles on a short story collection after reading it I would remember less than half as many would singularly fail to grab my attention. This is a collection based on the opinions of worthiness of one editor, and he has done a spectacular job. It is also a bonus that the introduction is written my Haruki Murakami, one of my favourite authors Japanese or otherwise, and two of his short stories are included here (oddly, two of the less memorable ones!)
I hope there are more books like this. A similarly constructed collection about cultures that I don’t know all that well would be fascinating, such as China or Mexico. But definitely worth a look - it has reinvigorated my interest in short stories, unexpectedly so as this was not a book that I would necessarily have chosen to buy, it was an unexpected gift from a good friend.
This is actually one of the best collections that I have read. It has a very high hit rate - most short story collections are, for me, more miss than hit, but this is definitely the other way round.
The stories vary from three pages to just over seventy. They are grouped together in themes - Japan’s relationship with the West, disasters (natural and man made) and are not presented in chronological order, although there are a number of suggested reading orders and one of those is based around when the stories are set. I read them in theme order as presented in the book.
There are a number of standout tales here. I adored the opening offering, “The Story Of Tomoda and Matsunaga” as well as the grim “Hell Screen” and a tale of people of lived in Hiroshima when the nuclear bomb fell. In fact, as I read the title list I have a distinct memory of most of the stories, most of the time if I looked back through a list of titles on a short story collection after reading it I would remember less than half as many would singularly fail to grab my attention. This is a collection based on the opinions of worthiness of one editor, and he has done a spectacular job. It is also a bonus that the introduction is written my Haruki Murakami, one of my favourite authors Japanese or otherwise, and two of his short stories are included here (oddly, two of the less memorable ones!)
I hope there are more books like this. A similarly constructed collection about cultures that I don’t know all that well would be fascinating, such as China or Mexico. But definitely worth a look - it has reinvigorated my interest in short stories, unexpectedly so as this was not a book that I would necessarily have chosen to buy, it was an unexpected gift from a good friend.
karinlib's review
4.0
This is a collection of both well known to me Japanese authors, as well as those I have not heard of before. I enjoyed this collection, with an introduction by a favorite author, Murakami. As always, I enjoyed some more than others.
kaja_01's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
grapesoporto's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I love the twisted mind of Sayaka Murata so i got interested with japanese literature and this book was perfect to explore different japanese authors. And it did NOT disappoint! I got to have more! I thirst for their creative writing!
raeld9601's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective