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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Tytuł od razu mnie wchłaniał (w angielskim o wiele nudniejszy, dotąd Ogawę czytałam tylko po angielsku). Świetne, przerażające, wzajemnie wplątane opowiadania. Brawo Tajfuny!
So fantastic.
Slightly less than fantastic review coming soon.
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I wrote the above TWO YEARS AGO. Apparently review coming soon means IN TWO YEARS.
I am disappointed to say that I do not remember a thing, so I'm giving it four stars. By my comment TWO YEARS AGO, I bet I was going to give it five. At least it's still accurate regarding the less than fantastic review...
As nerdy as I am, however, I had scribbled down some notes about it in my book review notebook at the time I read it. They do not make a lot of sense now, but here we go:
-This is a long chain of cause and effect. The actions and reactions of every person - even those that don't know one another. You would need to read this multiple times to catch/remember all the connections.
-This collection is not as "dark" as much as it is "haunting." Some are creepy, but some are sad.
-Jealousy seems to make me suffer in the most unexpected ways.
...I still love that line.
Slightly less than fantastic review coming soon.
------------------------------------------
I wrote the above TWO YEARS AGO. Apparently review coming soon means IN TWO YEARS.
I am disappointed to say that I do not remember a thing, so I'm giving it four stars. By my comment TWO YEARS AGO, I bet I was going to give it five. At least it's still accurate regarding the less than fantastic review...
As nerdy as I am, however, I had scribbled down some notes about it in my book review notebook at the time I read it. They do not make a lot of sense now, but here we go:
-This is a long chain of cause and effect. The actions and reactions of every person - even those that don't know one another. You would need to read this multiple times to catch/remember all the connections.
-This collection is not as "dark" as much as it is "haunting." Some are creepy, but some are sad.
-Jealousy seems to make me suffer in the most unexpected ways.
...I still love that line.
niezwykle interesujace opowiadania i sposob w jaki sie lacza, jestem pewna ze wiele detali mi umknelo
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My favourite part of this piece is definitely how brilliantly all the stories are woven together, like a small, delicate tapestry. Each strand is connected, yet distinct. Every story carries a trace of the previous one, while charting its own path. This keeps the narrative compelling, drawing attention to the intricacies of the overall story building. It's almost as if you come to know the entire city, even though none of its inhabitants know each other intimately.
Although I don’t understand the meaning behind the English title, each story’s unique approach to death feels refreshing. Suddenly, death reveals itself through many different angles, and that’s what I admire about Ogawa. She explores these themes with a poetic, almost dreamlike quality.
Although I don’t understand the meaning behind the English title, each story’s unique approach to death feels refreshing. Suddenly, death reveals itself through many different angles, and that’s what I admire about Ogawa. She explores these themes with a poetic, almost dreamlike quality.
I appreciated the range of characters, some blissfully unaware, others disturbingly unhinged to the point of causing death. Another detail I found compelling was the strawberry as a symbol: sweet on the surface, steeped in sorrow underneath.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Medical content
Minor: Child death, Grief, Car accident
Some of these stories were completely fucked up. One, about a heart, I could barely listen to.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this collection of short stories. They are probably some of the strangest stories I have read so far this year. The way they interconnect is just brilliant, but I did find myself in moments when I just did not seem to care about what was happening. I think this is a brilliant work of fiction, but sometimes the story it was referencing was much more interesting than the one I was currently reading.
While I do recommend this short story collection and will praise Yoko Ogawa for her work, I can easily say this is not for everyone and that some people will be in absolute awe of this, while others will absolutely hate it. I find myself somewhere in the middle-ground camp - I think it's a good book, but not mind blowing, not the best I've read, but clearly not the worst.
While I do recommend this short story collection and will praise Yoko Ogawa for her work, I can easily say this is not for everyone and that some people will be in absolute awe of this, while others will absolutely hate it. I find myself somewhere in the middle-ground camp - I think it's a good book, but not mind blowing, not the best I've read, but clearly not the worst.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced