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causticcovercritic's review
2.0
This is a weird one. Wild mix of big ideas, AI, Christian mysticism and some sadly ropy 1950s-style SF. Full--too full--of ideas. Every time I'm about to give up on it, some strange and intriguing thing surprises me and gets me back in. A bit of a dog's breakfast. Wonderful cover, though.
cythera15's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Very gruesome, interesting conclusion where the two "hybrid children" become a tree...
travisclau's review
4.0
A timely piece of feminist speculative fiction -- a translation to preserves its narrative and formal experimentation. Great to see it out with UMinnesota's Parallel Futures series which explores JSciFi's play with temporal disjunction and non-linear plot and development. It's a trip to read (at times frustrating), but its implications for our current political climate are striking. Glad to see this work from 1990 getting its due.
rakoerose's review
4.0
This was a dense and intense read but honestly what else could you expect from a Seiun Award novel? I suspect that the difficulty comes not from the translation; this is just a harder book to grasp and takes a lot of focus.
”You’re not ordinary, are you?” said Shiver.
“Look who’s talking,” answered the girl.
I really enjoyed the concepts this novel displays and develops, with such great themes on motherhood, religion, and empathy. It’s also incredibly feminist (which is cool for something originally published in 1990). The surreal world that Ōhara exposes through the book is one I find myself wanting to know even more about and I think this would be interesting to reread later in life.
Jonah/#3 as a character kept me entranced by the story and following her hundreds-of-years journey. Her unabashed interest in everything around her and the intense desire to understand was relatable and mirrored a lot of my own feelings about the world around me. By the end of it all I felt the same protective feelings like I didn’t want to let her go, similar to her own Mama.
It was cool, and weird, and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I’m so glad it was translated, as otherwise I’d have never gotten an opportunity to experience this wild ride of a book!
”You’re not ordinary, are you?” said Shiver.
“Look who’s talking,” answered the girl.
I really enjoyed the concepts this novel displays and develops, with such great themes on motherhood, religion, and empathy. It’s also incredibly feminist (which is cool for something originally published in 1990). The surreal world that Ōhara exposes through the book is one I find myself wanting to know even more about and I think this would be interesting to reread later in life.
Jonah/#3 as a character kept me entranced by the story and following her hundreds-of-years journey. Her unabashed interest in everything around her and the intense desire to understand was relatable and mirrored a lot of my own feelings about the world around me. By the end of it all I felt the same protective feelings like I didn’t want to let her go, similar to her own Mama.
It was cool, and weird, and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I’m so glad it was translated, as otherwise I’d have never gotten an opportunity to experience this wild ride of a book!
kjoofta's review
3.0
I hated so much about this book. The best way to describe this book is : moist. There is just SO much bodily fluid. I thought it was unnecessary. There was also some really grotesque scenes that I did not need to experience ever in my life time.
Despite this, I did find the concept of the story interesting, and it was not so grotesque I didn't finish it - although it was difficult for me to continue reading. If I didn't have to read this for a class I probably wouldn't have finished it. However, I do think it was a new perspective and interesting style of writing that I haven't seen before.
So while I hated it... I can't give it 1 star because it did all the things books are supposed to do. It made me feel something, and I experienced a new style of writing because of it.
Do I recommend it? Well, it's not for the faint of heart.
Despite this, I did find the concept of the story interesting, and it was not so grotesque I didn't finish it - although it was difficult for me to continue reading. If I didn't have to read this for a class I probably wouldn't have finished it. However, I do think it was a new perspective and interesting style of writing that I haven't seen before.
So while I hated it... I can't give it 1 star because it did all the things books are supposed to do. It made me feel something, and I experienced a new style of writing because of it.
Do I recommend it? Well, it's not for the faint of heart.
vb_94's review
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
lilbabyratgirl's review
I was really loving the characters and world building, but around a third of the way in I started to feel like it was meandering a little bit.
sakawara's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, Violence, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Abandonment, Abortion, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Physical abuse
mushimilda's review
4.0
Première édition et traduction d’un classique de SF des années 90, écrit par une femme (le livre est qualifié de SF féministe mais à prendre avec le contexte). J’ai vu pas mal de critiques négatives sur Goodreads à base de « y’a trop de trucs mêlés et on comprend rien » et : c’est vrai. Personnellement ça ne m’a pas empêché d’apprécier cette lecture, même si j’ai mis plus d’un mois à le lire. J’ai trouvé une esthétique et une ambiance très particulière dans ce roman, qu’habituellement je trouve pas dans la SF en particulier de cette époque. Franchement je sais pas à quel point le livre a eu du succès au Japon et s’il a influencé d’autres œuvres plus connus, ou peut-être y’a une inspiration commune je sais pas. Mais là j’étais dans une phase revisionnage anime SF de la période 90-2000-ish, et entre Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion ou Kaiba, j’avais vraiment des visuels et l’esthétique qui collaient très bien à ce roman. J’y ai retrouvé les mêmes ambiances (et aussi les mêmes failles narratives j’imagine haha) et ça m’a vraiment plut. Cela dit je pense que le livre soûlera beaucoup de personnes donc je le recommande pas les yeux fermés non plus.