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queeniecraft's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lattelibrarian's review
5.0
Beautiful and amazing. My personal favorites include "The Melancholy of Mechagirl," "Fifteen Panels Depicting the SAdness of the Baku and the Jotai," "Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time," "Fade to White," and "Killswitch." As you can probably guess, this is just about half of the book. The conclusion rests: you all should read this book. The title and title poem sets up an expectation--a sort of guideline on how to interpret this book, how to read it, how to feel about it. Valente does a beautiful job choosing words to provoke a sense of detachment. When I say detachment, I mean that when I read this book, I felt both detached from the real world and the characters' worlds (for I am not a robot). How Valente describes their world and their emotions is tantalizing and irrevocably, and ultimately, well-done.
peelspls's review
5.0
Firstly, Catherynne Valente writes with a cultural and mythological sensitivity that I aspire to write with someday. As her own afterword says, she writes about a culture that neither birthed her not she felt invited to, but instead sat down to tea with her. Through this, her mythological stories, patterns and replications are exquisite.
Her novella "Silent and Very Fast" is included in this, and has been lauded several times. But that's not even close to my two favorite stories. "Thirteen Ways of Looking At The Universe" was a profound meta-narrative merging both the repeated birth of the universe through Biblical, Japanese, Aztec and Apache mythology with the story of a young girl who becomes a science fiction writer.
My second favorite story is "Fade To White". A story told entirely through copywriting notes about a post World War 2 dystopia where white men are cultivated for the spawning of the new American wives after a radioactive Cold War. Tying in the 1950s with the rich, earnest copywriting brought the whole dystopia and it's social fabric (Mccarthy-ism) immediately to the fore.
My final favorite is actually the author's own afterword. She does not write from far apart, trying to tell me a story she cannot relate to. Instead she invites me into the youth, overwhelming loneliness and exclusion of a young American Navy wife who's husband leaves her stranded in an outside culture shortly after their wedding.
What I'm saying is, I found a new favorite author and the way she moved me, the way she gave me several quiet moments on the bathroom floor after I finished reading her stories has made this entire journey worth it. She made the dreamworld real in a Jungian, creative sense. She borrowed from the symbolic language of myths and dreams to tell us these shockingly intimate and vivid stories. And she did so with so much feeling. So much feeling.
Her novella "Silent and Very Fast" is included in this, and has been lauded several times. But that's not even close to my two favorite stories. "Thirteen Ways of Looking At The Universe" was a profound meta-narrative merging both the repeated birth of the universe through Biblical, Japanese, Aztec and Apache mythology with the story of a young girl who becomes a science fiction writer.
My second favorite story is "Fade To White". A story told entirely through copywriting notes about a post World War 2 dystopia where white men are cultivated for the spawning of the new American wives after a radioactive Cold War. Tying in the 1950s with the rich, earnest copywriting brought the whole dystopia and it's social fabric (Mccarthy-ism) immediately to the fore.
My final favorite is actually the author's own afterword. She does not write from far apart, trying to tell me a story she cannot relate to. Instead she invites me into the youth, overwhelming loneliness and exclusion of a young American Navy wife who's husband leaves her stranded in an outside culture shortly after their wedding.
What I'm saying is, I found a new favorite author and the way she moved me, the way she gave me several quiet moments on the bathroom floor after I finished reading her stories has made this entire journey worth it. She made the dreamworld real in a Jungian, creative sense. She borrowed from the symbolic language of myths and dreams to tell us these shockingly intimate and vivid stories. And she did so with so much feeling. So much feeling.
jonny_buijze's review
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
caitcoy's review
4.0
"But perhaps I see, very, very occasionally, incompletely and always dimly, by the light of the wish-fulfilling jewel in Jizo's tutelary hand, through, with difficulty, with error, with aching, with determination, to the truth of things. Or at least to a better lie. Everything has a dual nature."
The Melancholy of Mechagirl is a collection of Catherynne M. Valente’s short fiction influenced by her time in Japan. Containing both poetry and various lengths of short stories, this collection plays both on the rhythms of Japanese as well as Western life, the myths and legends of Japan and the strangeness of being a foreigner in that land.
Valente lived in Japan while she was married to a man in the Navy and her stories hold the same frustrations and loneliness of a Western woman in a place she doesn’t understand and feels isolated from. Many of the stories are dark, some disturbing, but many play with myths in a way that Valente is very good at. In particular, “Story No. 6” and “Silently and Very Fast” (which won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards for Best Novella in 2011) are standout stories which kept me enthralled. I didn’t love every bit of the collection but I became a big fan of Valente after reading this, I’m impressed at how well she brings myths to life in past, present and future Japan.
Detailed reviews below:
The Melancholy of Mechagirl - 3 out of 5
A poem written from the perspective of a girl who is as much machine as human.
I cannot claim to understand much of what happens in this poem but Valente uses language so beautifully that I didn’t mind too much.
Ink, Water, Milk - 4 out of 5
Three stories are told simultaneously about a paper scroll left in an abandoned factory, the philosophical musings of minor gods and a dissatisfied young Navy wife struggling to adapt to life in Japan. Told in alternating sections, they are slowly tied together.
While the start of this story felt a little jarring, Valente allows you to see how the stories tie together as it progresses. I couldn’t help but feel caught by the strange mythology of it.
Fifteen Panels Depicting the Sadness of the Baku and the Jotai - 4 out of 5
A Baku, a creature who feeds on the dreams of the living, reflects on his lost love, a Jotai screen which kept company with a lonely Navy wife.
This story is mystical and disturbing, in a way that I haven’t felt in awhile. I’m not sure I could say I enjoyed it but it certainly felt like the scarier, more disturbing myths that you don’t see much of anymore.
Ghosts of Gunkanjima - 4 out of 5
Ghosts on the abandoned island of Gunkanjima reflect helplessly on the deaths which trapped them there.
Another story that isn’t an easy read but still captures the imagination. The turmoil of the spirits and what happened to them is simultaneously disturbing and compelling.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time - 1 out of 5
The birth of the universe is described with thirteen different amalgamations of myth and Valente’s life.
This was weird and too dominated by math and science for me. It’s definitely more in the hard science fiction realm of Valente’s writing, which just isn’t my cup of tea.
One Breath, One Stroke - 4 out of 5
A calligrapher lives in the House of Second-Hand Carnelian which sits half in the human world and half in the unhuman world. When the calligrapher is in the human world, he is a man named Ko and when he’s in the unhuman world, he is a brush named Yuu. Each tries to find out more about the other as they guard this gateway house.
Valente seems to be at her best (for me) when playing with mythical structure. I’m not super familiar with Japanese myths but the introduction of the animals and creatures of the House of Second-Hand Carnelian was fascinating.
Story No. 6 - 5 out of 5
A Kami shifts through old Japanese films (only those on film, not DVDs or VHS tapes), disturbing those who happen to catch sight of her.
This is Valente at her best. It’s creepy, magical and breathes life into myth in the present day, incorporating a level of magic realism that enthralled me.
Fade to White - 3 out of 5
Several teenagers face the ritual of coming of age in a post-apocalyptic Fallout-style America.
This was an interesting 1950’s style reimagining of America if nuclear war had happened. It’s heavy satire and dark, interesting if not my favorite of the collection.
The Emperor of Tsukayama Park - 3 out of 5
A poem about misunderstanding the name of a park and the feeling of being foreign and and foolish.
I’ve never been terribly into poetry, but Valente captures the feeling of isolation and shame well.
Killswitch - 4 out of 5
A horror/survival videogame named Killswitch drives players to discover all of its secrets, plagued by the knowledge that it is playable only once, with a number of choices and puzzles to complete.
The most interesting part of this story is the implication of the pressure players would feel if they had only one chance to play a game, particularly given that they have a choice at the beginning of the easy human character or the impossibly difficult demonic one. It’s a story of impossible choices and feels like a story that could be in the news.
Memoirs of a Girl Who Failed to be Born from a Peach - 3 out of 5
A poem which plays both on a miscarriage and the legend of Momotaro for a story of someone who never had the chance to live.
This is the shortest poem in the collection and a bit brutal. I liked the way it mixed Momotaro in with an American experience and life in Los Angeles.
The Girl with Two Skins - 2 out of 5
A fox creature is a bound to a woman when its hidden treasure is discovered and is convinced to become a woman itself, even as it struggles against this change.
There are definitely points in this collection in which I feel my ignorance of Japanese myth and legend and this poem was very much one of them. The feeling of not being good enough and trying to be something one isn’t come through well but I spent much of the poem struggling to understand what was going on.
Silently and Very Fast - 5 out of 5
An artificial intelligence develops with an isolated family of engineers on a Japanese island and struggles to define itself in relation to its family.
This is easily my favorite of what I’ve read from Valente. The idea of the line between man and machine is one of my favorite concepts in science fiction (though not that far from reality these days) and this story does such an excellent job of showing the progression of the AI from simple adaptive house technology to a machine capable of many things, perhaps even enough emotion to pass the Turing test.
The Melancholy of Mechagirl is a collection of Catherynne M. Valente’s short fiction influenced by her time in Japan. Containing both poetry and various lengths of short stories, this collection plays both on the rhythms of Japanese as well as Western life, the myths and legends of Japan and the strangeness of being a foreigner in that land.
Valente lived in Japan while she was married to a man in the Navy and her stories hold the same frustrations and loneliness of a Western woman in a place she doesn’t understand and feels isolated from. Many of the stories are dark, some disturbing, but many play with myths in a way that Valente is very good at. In particular, “Story No. 6” and “Silently and Very Fast” (which won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards for Best Novella in 2011) are standout stories which kept me enthralled. I didn’t love every bit of the collection but I became a big fan of Valente after reading this, I’m impressed at how well she brings myths to life in past, present and future Japan.
Detailed reviews below:
The Melancholy of Mechagirl - 3 out of 5
A poem written from the perspective of a girl who is as much machine as human.
I cannot claim to understand much of what happens in this poem but Valente uses language so beautifully that I didn’t mind too much.
Ink, Water, Milk - 4 out of 5
Three stories are told simultaneously about a paper scroll left in an abandoned factory, the philosophical musings of minor gods and a dissatisfied young Navy wife struggling to adapt to life in Japan. Told in alternating sections, they are slowly tied together.
While the start of this story felt a little jarring, Valente allows you to see how the stories tie together as it progresses. I couldn’t help but feel caught by the strange mythology of it.
Fifteen Panels Depicting the Sadness of the Baku and the Jotai - 4 out of 5
A Baku, a creature who feeds on the dreams of the living, reflects on his lost love, a Jotai screen which kept company with a lonely Navy wife.
This story is mystical and disturbing, in a way that I haven’t felt in awhile. I’m not sure I could say I enjoyed it but it certainly felt like the scarier, more disturbing myths that you don’t see much of anymore.
Ghosts of Gunkanjima - 4 out of 5
Ghosts on the abandoned island of Gunkanjima reflect helplessly on the deaths which trapped them there.
Another story that isn’t an easy read but still captures the imagination. The turmoil of the spirits and what happened to them is simultaneously disturbing and compelling.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time - 1 out of 5
The birth of the universe is described with thirteen different amalgamations of myth and Valente’s life.
This was weird and too dominated by math and science for me. It’s definitely more in the hard science fiction realm of Valente’s writing, which just isn’t my cup of tea.
One Breath, One Stroke - 4 out of 5
A calligrapher lives in the House of Second-Hand Carnelian which sits half in the human world and half in the unhuman world. When the calligrapher is in the human world, he is a man named Ko and when he’s in the unhuman world, he is a brush named Yuu. Each tries to find out more about the other as they guard this gateway house.
Valente seems to be at her best (for me) when playing with mythical structure. I’m not super familiar with Japanese myths but the introduction of the animals and creatures of the House of Second-Hand Carnelian was fascinating.
Story No. 6 - 5 out of 5
A Kami shifts through old Japanese films (only those on film, not DVDs or VHS tapes), disturbing those who happen to catch sight of her.
This is Valente at her best. It’s creepy, magical and breathes life into myth in the present day, incorporating a level of magic realism that enthralled me.
Fade to White - 3 out of 5
Several teenagers face the ritual of coming of age in a post-apocalyptic Fallout-style America.
This was an interesting 1950’s style reimagining of America if nuclear war had happened. It’s heavy satire and dark, interesting if not my favorite of the collection.
The Emperor of Tsukayama Park - 3 out of 5
A poem about misunderstanding the name of a park and the feeling of being foreign and and foolish.
I’ve never been terribly into poetry, but Valente captures the feeling of isolation and shame well.
Killswitch - 4 out of 5
A horror/survival videogame named Killswitch drives players to discover all of its secrets, plagued by the knowledge that it is playable only once, with a number of choices and puzzles to complete.
The most interesting part of this story is the implication of the pressure players would feel if they had only one chance to play a game, particularly given that they have a choice at the beginning of the easy human character or the impossibly difficult demonic one. It’s a story of impossible choices and feels like a story that could be in the news.
Memoirs of a Girl Who Failed to be Born from a Peach - 3 out of 5
A poem which plays both on a miscarriage and the legend of Momotaro for a story of someone who never had the chance to live.
This is the shortest poem in the collection and a bit brutal. I liked the way it mixed Momotaro in with an American experience and life in Los Angeles.
The Girl with Two Skins - 2 out of 5
A fox creature is a bound to a woman when its hidden treasure is discovered and is convinced to become a woman itself, even as it struggles against this change.
There are definitely points in this collection in which I feel my ignorance of Japanese myth and legend and this poem was very much one of them. The feeling of not being good enough and trying to be something one isn’t come through well but I spent much of the poem struggling to understand what was going on.
Silently and Very Fast - 5 out of 5
An artificial intelligence develops with an isolated family of engineers on a Japanese island and struggles to define itself in relation to its family.
This is easily my favorite of what I’ve read from Valente. The idea of the line between man and machine is one of my favorite concepts in science fiction (though not that far from reality these days) and this story does such an excellent job of showing the progression of the AI from simple adaptive house technology to a machine capable of many things, perhaps even enough emotion to pass the Turing test.
posole's review
2.0
This was hard for me to rate… I found most of these stories inscrutable, knowing little about Japanese mythology. They were a bit too abstract for me to appreciate, or maybe too personal (many stories were semi-autobiographical) - but the threads running through them were intriguing. Also the poetry was lost on me, an uncultured brute.
My favorite story was Fade to White, about a alternate post WW-II America whose population has been decimated by war. In response, the government develops a breeding program for the smartest, most fertile white men and women. The story jumps from the perspective of a young man whose life’s dream is to be a good husband and have children, and a young Asian woman passing as white, who is silently and begrudgingly resigned to her role as a future housewife of America.
I also enjoyed Silently and Very Fast, a novella about humans and artificial intelligence that I thought was very original.
My favorite story was Fade to White, about a alternate post WW-II America whose population has been decimated by war. In response, the government develops a breeding program for the smartest, most fertile white men and women. The story jumps from the perspective of a young man whose life’s dream is to be a good husband and have children, and a young Asian woman passing as white, who is silently and begrudgingly resigned to her role as a future housewife of America.
I also enjoyed Silently and Very Fast, a novella about humans and artificial intelligence that I thought was very original.
peppypenguin's review
4.0
Sometimes it was a little hard for me to wrap my head around the author's writing style. She has an amazing knack for blending imagery, poetry and metaphor, so at times it becomes very abstract. Because of this some of the stories and poems were misses for me.
On the other hand, though it requires a lot of thought about what she is saying, you can tell there's a lot of heart put into each story and poem. It can be difficult, but it is not elitist. Her writing truly is art.
I would like to dub Valente the master of fairy tales; the way she writes her stories, the ideas she comes up with for them, and how she relates them to already existing fairy tales, is simply amazing.
My favourite story had to be the last one; "Silently and Very Fast". I also thoroughly enjoyed "Fade to White".
I have read "Deathless", and having done so I know she has a very distinct style, and I adore it.
I strongly recommend this book if you have a fascination with ideas of he future, a taste for fairy tales, and a love for disturbing yet meaningful stories.
On the other hand, though it requires a lot of thought about what she is saying, you can tell there's a lot of heart put into each story and poem. It can be difficult, but it is not elitist. Her writing truly is art.
I would like to dub Valente the master of fairy tales; the way she writes her stories, the ideas she comes up with for them, and how she relates them to already existing fairy tales, is simply amazing.
My favourite story had to be the last one; "Silently and Very Fast". I also thoroughly enjoyed "Fade to White".
I have read "Deathless", and having done so I know she has a very distinct style, and I adore it.
I strongly recommend this book if you have a fascination with ideas of he future, a taste for fairy tales, and a love for disturbing yet meaningful stories.
silquesoleil's review
5.0
read for the 2015 reading challenge: a book of short stories
This book is very important. I can't even say how much, because the part that touched me most was the afterword, I found it so incredibly relatable and moving. Catherynne M. Valente is an amazing author. The fact that she was able to write several books while struggling with depression during her time in Japan is an incredible feat.
This book is not one of the books written during that time. It is the book shaped from the experiences of that time, a collection of poetry and short stories - science fiction, dystopian, and fantasy ones.
I used to admire Stephen Kings writing - but this woman is far out of his league. The way she writes is wild and magical and unafraid. How many pieces of writing advice do you see floating around on tumblr that provides a set of rules designed to help you refine your writing? Discard them. Unlearn them.
Her writing is so rich because she seems to break every single one of these rules or maybe she never heard of them in the first place. I admire her so much. Please, do yourself a favor and read her books.
This book is very important. I can't even say how much, because the part that touched me most was the afterword, I found it so incredibly relatable and moving. Catherynne M. Valente is an amazing author. The fact that she was able to write several books while struggling with depression during her time in Japan is an incredible feat.
This book is not one of the books written during that time. It is the book shaped from the experiences of that time, a collection of poetry and short stories - science fiction, dystopian, and fantasy ones.
I used to admire Stephen Kings writing - but this woman is far out of his league. The way she writes is wild and magical and unafraid. How many pieces of writing advice do you see floating around on tumblr that provides a set of rules designed to help you refine your writing? Discard them. Unlearn them.
Her writing is so rich because she seems to break every single one of these rules or maybe she never heard of them in the first place. I admire her so much. Please, do yourself a favor and read her books.