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benrogerswpg's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this intriguing story.
Book Summary
A man has a romantic fling with his random roommate - an old woman in a hospital. Upon his release from the hospital, the old woman confronts the man - but there is something different. The old woman is miraculously much younger. A tale of youth, age, and life, this peculiar book has parallels to [b:The Curious Case of Benjamin Button|747746|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button|F. Scott Fitzgerald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331235364l/747746._SY75_.jpg|1650517].
What I Liked
I thought this book was very interesting. I enjoyed how the author spun in lots of Christian elements too (faith, responsibility, and monologue).
I like to think of it as a female Curious Case of Benjamin Button and a bit of Lolita too.
This book also had some special powers in it.
Final Thoughts
A very intriguing story. Would recommend for fans of mysterious happenings. Great Japanese writer - would read more from Yamada.
4.4/5
Book Summary
A man has a romantic fling with his random roommate - an old woman in a hospital. Upon his release from the hospital, the old woman confronts the man - but there is something different. The old woman is miraculously much younger. A tale of youth, age, and life, this peculiar book has parallels to [b:The Curious Case of Benjamin Button|747746|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button|F. Scott Fitzgerald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331235364l/747746._SY75_.jpg|1650517].
What I Liked
I thought this book was very interesting. I enjoyed how the author spun in lots of Christian elements too (faith, responsibility, and monologue).
I like to think of it as a female Curious Case of Benjamin Button and a bit of Lolita too.
This book also had some special powers in it
Spoiler
- such as when he was with her, he was able to do things like learn French very quicklyFinal Thoughts
A very intriguing story. Would recommend for fans of mysterious happenings. Great Japanese writer - would read more from Yamada.
4.4/5
booksandso's review against another edition
5.0
I read this in a day. The author's writing is easy, and has lots of beautiful quotes. Please, please, if you have the chance, read this book. It's amazing. It's not just a romance, it's the story of a man who stopped believing in love, and it has the right amount of fantasy and mystery to make it perfect and unique. The ending is simply perfect.
amanda02143's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Very fast read. Enjoyable to read but definitely weird and, eventually, creepy/gross. But maybe that's the point... I'm not sure.
This is really more about the main character's obsession and shouldn't be considered a love story.
It's not ever clear WHY the two main characters are drawn to one another, other than sex. Their time together is limited and they barely know one another so it seems superficial, not at all romantic. The narrator is attracted to Mutsuko for her physical beauty and defenselessness, but otherwise expresses negative views of women in general. To be frank he's pretty much a chauvinist pig.
Rather than a love story, I considered it an expression of the ennui felt by the middle aged Japanese salaryman. His kids are grown, his wife is focused on her work which is annoying since he's a pig (see above) , and he's progressed as high as he's going to get at his work. So he feels powerless about the direction of his life. Maybe that is the whole point, though I'm not really sure.
This is really more about the main character's obsession and shouldn't be considered a love story.
It's not ever clear WHY the two main characters are drawn to one another, other than sex. Their time together is limited and they barely know one another so it seems superficial, not at all romantic. The narrator is attracted to Mutsuko for her physical beauty and defenselessness, but otherwise expresses negative views of women in general. To be frank he's pretty much a chauvinist pig.
Rather than a love story, I considered it an expression of the ennui felt by the middle aged Japanese salaryman. His kids are grown, his wife is focused on her work which is annoying since he's a pig (see above) , and he's progressed as high as he's going to get at his work. So he feels powerless about the direction of his life. Maybe that is the whole point, though I'm not really sure.
camille_withlove's review against another edition
5.0
Way to steamy for its own good but apart from that the writing is marvelous, the mc is unlikeable at first but eventually gets the ending/consequences he deserved, I also thought he changed his perspective on women by the end. I can always appreciate an author who acknowledge their characters flaws. Contrary to most I really loved it, is it weird? Maybe xD 3.80/5
Warning, this is a whole new level of weird romance.
Warning, this is a whole new level of weird romance.
hannahilea's review against another edition
1.0
I'm still not sure if this book was poorly written or poorly translated, but the narrative was inconsistent, the narrator was flat, and the plot was disturbing but not purposefully so (or at least not with a discernible purpose).
Literary critique aside, a creepy book where I felt I was supposed to identify with a shallow and creepy protagonist. Lots of potential, no follow-through.
Literary critique aside, a creepy book where I felt I was supposed to identify with a shallow and creepy protagonist. Lots of potential, no follow-through.
caityq's review
1.0
I really didn't enjoy this book.
I found the whole premise - finding a woman getting increasingly younger increasingly attractive - off-putting. She was actually repulsive to him at 64 (although he was in his 50s). He's enraged she engaged sexually with him, but as soon as she's 40 he's into it. Then when she's a teen (which is totally fine cause really she's64), he finds her the most attractive out of all her ages. It felt like a 50 year old man justifying wanting to shag teenagers.
I have never read a book and been genuinely concerned that he would try to have sex with a young child, which is her final form.
It was well written, but everything else landed flat.
Why include his wife and son to have them be peripheral? Their input would've been interesting.
There is the entire gun scene which felt out of nowhere and kind of irrelevant. It went from 0 to 60 real fast and for no purpose. It really threw off the feeling of the book.
I have never read a book and been genuinely concerned that he would try to have sex with a young child, which is her final form.
It was well written, but everything else landed flat.
Why include his wife and son to have them be peripheral? Their input would've been interesting.
There is the entire gun scene which felt out of nowhere and kind of irrelevant. It went from 0 to 60 real fast and for no purpose. It really threw off the feeling of the book.
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
Peste două luni şi câteva zile urma să împlinesc patruzeci şi opt de ani. Întruna din acele zile de iarnă în care eram complet imobilizat – şi nu vorbesc la figurat, căci îmi fracturasem femurul drept şi eram ţintuit la pat undeva în adâncul sufletului meu începusem să simt o ruptură faţă de lumea reală.
(Ei bine, vă rog să mă iertaţi pentru acest început pretenţios. Dar ceea ce am să vă povestesc e ceva ce nu s-a mai auzit. Chiar şi acum, când totul a luat sfârşit, nu ştiu cum aş fi putut eu, un om obişnuit, să înţeleg lucrurile incredibile care mi s-au întâmplat – ceva ce cu greu i-ar putea trece cuiva prin minte. Uneori le atribui diverse interpretări doar pentru a le nega apoi pe rând pe fiecare, alteori mă concentrez asupra uneia singure, dar de cele mai multe ori renunţ pur şi simplu să le mai caut vreo semnificaţie.)
Aşadar vorbeam despre ce însemna realitatea pentru mine.
Aceasta era alcătuită din mai multe aspecte legate de postul meu de director adjunct al departamentului de vânzări la filiala din Hokuriku a unei firme de prefabricate. Avea de-a face cu munca mea departe de familie, cu abilităţile mele de conducere, cu rezultatele în vânzări, cu directorul de filială care urla în gura mare ca un meşteşugar, cu nepăsarea şefului meu faţă de cei din jur şi cu dorinţa lui de a se proteja numai pe sine, cu rata dobânzii la împrumuturile de la o companie de credite pentru locuinţe şi cu bravada mea în faţa subalternilor, pe care de fapt nu-i puteam ajuta cu nimic. Dar şi cu soţia mea care rămăsese la Tokyo, cu fiica mea care se măritase, cu fiul meu care era student în anul al doilea la facultate (şi că tot veni vorba, mai era şi distanţarea afectivă dintre mine şi el), cu insomniile mele, cu ulcerul gastrointestinal căpătat pe fond nervos, cu urinatul frecvent…
Nu mi-am închipuit că vreo zece zile de zăcut la pat m-ar putea face să mă distanţez de toate acestea, dar, după ce-a trecut un timp în care n-am făcut altceva decât să privesc tavanul alb, totul a început să mi se pară din ce în ce mai îndepărtat, pierdut undeva în zare.
Probabil că renunţasem să mai lupt. Încă din momentul în care îmi rupsesem piciorul, cu toate că pe jumătate refuzasem să îl accept, gândul că viaţa mea în cadrul companiei luase sfârşit mi se strecurase insinuant în conştiinţă, aidoma apei care îmbibă puţin câte puţin o ţesătură de mătase. La un moment dat m-am simţit copleşit de greutatea acestui gând, dar probabil că tocmai el mă ajutase să mă detaşez de toate câte mi se întâmplaseră.
(Ei bine, vă rog să mă iertaţi pentru acest început pretenţios. Dar ceea ce am să vă povestesc e ceva ce nu s-a mai auzit. Chiar şi acum, când totul a luat sfârşit, nu ştiu cum aş fi putut eu, un om obişnuit, să înţeleg lucrurile incredibile care mi s-au întâmplat – ceva ce cu greu i-ar putea trece cuiva prin minte. Uneori le atribui diverse interpretări doar pentru a le nega apoi pe rând pe fiecare, alteori mă concentrez asupra uneia singure, dar de cele mai multe ori renunţ pur şi simplu să le mai caut vreo semnificaţie.)
Aşadar vorbeam despre ce însemna realitatea pentru mine.
Aceasta era alcătuită din mai multe aspecte legate de postul meu de director adjunct al departamentului de vânzări la filiala din Hokuriku a unei firme de prefabricate. Avea de-a face cu munca mea departe de familie, cu abilităţile mele de conducere, cu rezultatele în vânzări, cu directorul de filială care urla în gura mare ca un meşteşugar, cu nepăsarea şefului meu faţă de cei din jur şi cu dorinţa lui de a se proteja numai pe sine, cu rata dobânzii la împrumuturile de la o companie de credite pentru locuinţe şi cu bravada mea în faţa subalternilor, pe care de fapt nu-i puteam ajuta cu nimic. Dar şi cu soţia mea care rămăsese la Tokyo, cu fiica mea care se măritase, cu fiul meu care era student în anul al doilea la facultate (şi că tot veni vorba, mai era şi distanţarea afectivă dintre mine şi el), cu insomniile mele, cu ulcerul gastrointestinal căpătat pe fond nervos, cu urinatul frecvent…
Nu mi-am închipuit că vreo zece zile de zăcut la pat m-ar putea face să mă distanţez de toate acestea, dar, după ce-a trecut un timp în care n-am făcut altceva decât să privesc tavanul alb, totul a început să mi se pară din ce în ce mai îndepărtat, pierdut undeva în zare.
Probabil că renunţasem să mai lupt. Încă din momentul în care îmi rupsesem piciorul, cu toate că pe jumătate refuzasem să îl accept, gândul că viaţa mea în cadrul companiei luase sfârşit mi se strecurase insinuant în conştiinţă, aidoma apei care îmbibă puţin câte puţin o ţesătură de mătase. La un moment dat m-am simţit copleşit de greutatea acestui gând, dar probabil că tocmai el mă ajutase să mă detaşez de toate câte mi se întâmplaseră.
alaaqui's review
2.0
(2/5) stars
I have always wanted to try reading literature from other parts of the world, unfortunately, despite my wants I only speak Arabic and English (and a little of French), which pushes me to read translated works to explore different cultures and its literature.
This leads me to this novel, 'I Haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While' by Taichi Yamada. Beautiful name for a book. The title caught my eyes across so many books and I managed to see it even though it lied at the lower shelves.
I just wish the content was as good as the title or even the blurb. The only time I found myself enjoying this book, is toward the last few pages.
The issues I came across the books are:
1. Arrogant male lead.
3. Airheaded female lead.
4. Sexism.
Going into to this novel, I knew it was a romance; however, I didn't know it was some perverted unemployed middle aged guy's sex fantasies. The entire story is of the two leads banging each other each time they met. They just met to sleep together, and each time they met the female lead was younger. It is a badly written kinky book.
This felt like a waste for nice premise. The story could have been deep or maybe tried to be deep, but the author didn't even try to brush the effects of what is happening to the female lead (she was away for most of the book). The male lead didn't really start thinking that she might die, until later on in the book.
So many questions were left unanswered.
This was supposed to be a ghost story and a heartbreaking love story. Did I get either? No.
I have always wanted to try reading literature from other parts of the world, unfortunately, despite my wants I only speak Arabic and English (and a little of French), which pushes me to read translated works to explore different cultures and its literature.
This leads me to this novel, 'I Haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While' by Taichi Yamada. Beautiful name for a book. The title caught my eyes across so many books and I managed to see it even though it lied at the lower shelves.
I just wish the content was as good as the title or even the blurb. The only time I found myself enjoying this book, is toward the last few pages.
The issues I came across the books are:
1. Arrogant male lead.
3. Airheaded female lead.
4. Sexism.
Going into to this novel, I knew it was a romance; however, I didn't know it was some perverted unemployed middle aged guy's sex fantasies. The entire story is of the two leads banging each other each time they met. They just met to sleep together, and each time they met the female lead was younger. It is a badly written kinky book.
This felt like a waste for nice premise. The story could have been deep or maybe tried to be deep, but the author didn't even try to brush the effects of what is happening to the female lead (she was away for most of the book). The male lead didn't really start thinking that she might die, until later on in the book.
So many questions were left unanswered.
This was supposed to be a ghost story and a heartbreaking love story. Did I get either? No.
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