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turtlep0wer's review
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What a strange strange surreal delicious ride.
gabrielf94's review
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
achillreads's review
3.0
It was my first Kobo Abe and it certainly was a ride. Might say it was a fever dream sort of a story. Mayhaps I didn't get the main point of it but I don't think his work is for me. I do own another book of his but really not sure when that time will come.
wickedcestus's review
2.0
Like many books with inventive and funny openings, this one too fails to continue that momentum all the way through, even while being quite short. A man wakes up with radish sprouts growing from his legs. He tries to go to the doctor. The doctor puts him in a hospital bed, then rolls him out the door. The man realizes he can control the bed with his mind. He gets the bed stuck on a curb. Then, a construction worker rolls his bed into hell.
The rest of the book can easily be divided into three or four sections that don't seem to have much to do with each other, nor any point in themselves. It all just felt wacky for no purpose, and it wasn't even that funny by the end.
I liked some of the ideas in the book. I like the kangaroo notebook. I liked when a ceiling sprinkler turned into the main character's dad. I think this could have been developed into a more interesting story. As it is, it's just too short and not impactful.
The rest of the book can easily be divided into three or four sections that don't seem to have much to do with each other, nor any point in themselves. It all just felt wacky for no purpose, and it wasn't even that funny by the end.
I liked some of the ideas in the book. I like the kangaroo notebook. I liked when a ceiling sprinkler turned into the main character's dad. I think this could have been developed into a more interesting story. As it is, it's just too short and not impactful.
_carlibri_'s review against another edition
2.0
Il quaderno canguro è un romanzo onirico.
L'io narrante è anche il protagonista, e racconta a presa diretta ciò che gli accade lungo tutto il suo viaggio.
L'idea di base del romanzo è di stampo kafkiano, ma viene poi sviluppata, secondo me, ai limiti del nonsense.
Così come accade nei sogni, i luoghi e le scene descritte sono continui, improvvisi e casuali.
Inoltre, il testo è intriso di dettagli simbolici e legati alla mitologia giapponese, elementi che possono essere apprezzati, a mio avviso, solo dalle persone appassionate.
Per tutti questi motivi, non sono riuscita a entrare appieno nel romanzo e ho faticato molto nell'ascolto.
Tuttavia, ritengo che possa essere molto apprezzato da chi ama il genere.
L'io narrante è anche il protagonista, e racconta a presa diretta ciò che gli accade lungo tutto il suo viaggio.
L'idea di base del romanzo è di stampo kafkiano, ma viene poi sviluppata, secondo me, ai limiti del nonsense.
Così come accade nei sogni, i luoghi e le scene descritte sono continui, improvvisi e casuali.
Inoltre, il testo è intriso di dettagli simbolici e legati alla mitologia giapponese, elementi che possono essere apprezzati, a mio avviso, solo dalle persone appassionate.
Per tutti questi motivi, non sono riuscita a entrare appieno nel romanzo e ho faticato molto nell'ascolto.
Tuttavia, ritengo che possa essere molto apprezzato da chi ama il genere.
pearloz's review
3.0
That was an insane fever dream. In hindsight, the weirdest thing about this is that, the thing that prompted our narrator to visit the doctor was the fact that he was growing radishes up and down his legs. That was the baseline. Like the rest of it seemed crazy by comparison. WTF
cuckmulligan's review
2.0
I respect this book's strangeness, though can't honestly say it came together for me. Took me a while to get through this skinny little book.
There's a cliche bit of writing advice having to do with surreal/absurd elements in narratives. It more or less goes that the nonsensical should be used strategically and sparingly as a way of heightening or complicating a baseline reality. If you stack absurdities on top of absurdities you risk making your story feel inconsequential. I have always resisted this advice...shouldn't fiction, refuge from the real that it is, get as weird with it as it likes? Well, here's a cautionary tale. I get the sense this brand of dense, off-the-wall surrealism is easier to pull off in a shorter form. I'm reading the short stories of Leonora Carrington which are bonkers in a way kind of similar to this book, yet they work better because they don't wear out their welcome. There are individual scenes and images that will stick with me for a while--the turnip legs, the recurrence of the hospital bed, the farcical plot to "euthanize" an annoying fellow patient. Dialogue was often funny. Not sure what to make of the pedo stuff.
This hasn't scared me off from reading more Kobo Abe! This is a minor work, apparently. The Woman in the Dunes is the one he's known for and what I ought to have read.
There's a cliche bit of writing advice having to do with surreal/absurd elements in narratives. It more or less goes that the nonsensical should be used strategically and sparingly as a way of heightening or complicating a baseline reality. If you stack absurdities on top of absurdities you risk making your story feel inconsequential. I have always resisted this advice...shouldn't fiction, refuge from the real that it is, get as weird with it as it likes? Well, here's a cautionary tale. I get the sense this brand of dense, off-the-wall surrealism is easier to pull off in a shorter form. I'm reading the short stories of Leonora Carrington which are bonkers in a way kind of similar to this book, yet they work better because they don't wear out their welcome. There are individual scenes and images that will stick with me for a while--the turnip legs, the recurrence of the hospital bed, the farcical plot to "euthanize" an annoying fellow patient. Dialogue was often funny. Not sure what to make of the pedo stuff.
This hasn't scared me off from reading more Kobo Abe! This is a minor work, apparently. The Woman in the Dunes is the one he's known for and what I ought to have read.
dietsmarrissjohnson's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
sammyantha's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
2.5
I was really intrigued by the first couple of chapters but it didn’t last long. I found it hard to follow, the sentences didn’t flow for me. I hoped it would’ve been more like the metamorphosis