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hmetwade's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Incest, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Suicide
whitneys_bookstack's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The often use was so interesting and for the first quarter of the book I thought it was going to be a 5 star but then it got confusing and a little abstract instead of having satisfying solid answers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Incest
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
marleywrites's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I read the translated edition of this story and it was fascinating. There was this sense of building up urgency and it was done really well. I found myself wanting to rush through to the end to find out what would happen. I read it slowly, though, and really appreciated the storytelling of this book. I really liked Aki’s character a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Terminal illness
nenaveenstra's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was an interesting read. The entirety of this book takes place during one night, in one apartment in Tokyo. The main characters have a seemingly endless conversation with each other, filling in the blanks of each others' memories about an event that happened a year ago.
The suspension in this book relies entirely on omission. The plot twists - or reveils, rather - are only shocking because the narrators are unreliable. That's not something everyone likes, but I was okay with it.
This book very much reminded me of thriller films from the zeroes, which is the same era this book was written in. A major contributing factor to this, was the fact that these characters exchange thoughts and ideas with each other and present them as fact, thus 'discovering the truth' in a completely unreliable way. The book does not address this. I appreciate the nostalgic vibe this gives off, but if this book were newer I probably wouldn't have liked this very much.
Please check the content warnings before you go into this. This book isn't very gory or anything but I was very disturbed by the discussions of incest. These people entered a romantic relationship with each other while they thought they were siblings (later turned out to be cousins).
The spoiler mentioned above is the main reason I'm giving this book a lower rating.
The suspension in this book relies entirely on omission. The plot twists - or reveils, rather - are only shocking because the narrators are unreliable. That's not something everyone likes, but I was okay with it.
This book very much reminded me of thriller films from the zeroes, which is the same era this book was written in. A major contributing factor to this, was the fact that these characters exchange thoughts and ideas with each other and present them as fact, thus 'discovering the truth' in a completely unreliable way. The book does not address this. I appreciate the nostalgic vibe this gives off, but if this book were newer I probably wouldn't have liked this very much.
Please check the content warnings before you go into this. This book isn't very gory or anything but I was very disturbed by
The spoiler mentioned above is the main reason I'm giving this book a lower rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Suicide
See spoiler text in review above for more info about the incest part of this book.greenlight22's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts
jcapati's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death and Suicidal thoughts
crows_in_a_trenchcoat's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent and Death
bethsiekierawalker's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
typedtruths's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
a weird one but a good one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Incest, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Alcohol
chalkletters's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was doubly intrigued by the blurb of Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight; first by the premise of a man and woman sharing a final night together before the end of their relationship, then by the twist that each believes the other to be a murderer.
The opening chapters certainly live up to that promise. Riku Onda successfully evokes the tension from both characters’ perspectives without any hint as to which of them is more justified in their anxieties. Riku Onda doesn’t pull her punches, the atmosphere is immediately charged with danger as well as the complicated emotions of two people saying goodbye to each other and to a phase of their lives.
Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight isn’t a detective novel, even though both characters profess to want to know ‘whodunnit’, and in some ways that hurts it. Riku Onda never successfully conveys any motive for the possible murder from either character, which makes it hard to really believe their suspicions of one another.
Despite the fraught situation Aki and Hiro find themselves in, Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight isn’t an emotionally raw novel. The prose keeps the reader somewhat detached from both characters, even at moments that are supposed to be loaded with fear or anger. Similarly, the twist ending feels interesting without having much impact, either on the readers’ feelings or the course of events. By the end of the book, nothing has really changed from the beginning in a material way.
Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight was interesting, but not hugely memorable, nor something that seems it would reward rereading.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death, Incest, Deportation, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse