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ymile_mahllew's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Deadnaming
Moderate: Sexual content, Racism, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual violence
cass_lit's review against another edition
2.75
I’m torn because I really, truly loved the plot and this story. The commentary on globalization and language was fascinating. However, the continuous, blatant transphobia and racist remarks throughout the book really ruined it for me. The racism was somewhat related to the themes of the book (still wasn’t necessary), but the transphobia was pointless and brought up so much that I can’t help but think it was an intentional topic of the author’s. Why give us ONE (early) pov of Akash’s making clear she’s a trans woman just to then misgender her and make comments on her appearance for the rest of the book? I would love to continue with the series and the characters, but I won’t be because I’m so turned off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Racism
strrygo's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
loved the bits where tawada's own voice (on language, the self and identity in relation)seem to b coming thru, but not much else :[ think since i didn't particularly like any of the characters Except maybe susanoo a lot of this stuff was wayyy less interesting here than when i was hearing it from her directly in interviews n essays, or even her other works
also don't know if all the misgendering was a translation choice but the descriptions of akash definitely weren't :')
also don't know if all the misgendering was a translation choice but the descriptions of akash definitely weren't :')
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
chromaticgiraffes's review
I couldn't get into this book mainly because of the treatment of Akash, the one trans character. I got through one chapter of her being consistently misgendered and checked the reviews to see that it doesn't seem to get much better. It bothered me enough for one chapter that I know reading the rest of the book will be a complete slog if I have to keep pushing through blatant transphobia from all the other characters. Oh well!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
juksu's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The concept was so good but the writing style... really turned me off. And that's aside from the transphobia. I skimmed this at a Japanese bookstore and decided to read the full thing in English. I'll say the translation is faithful — it felt like reading the Japanese. Sort of floaty and translucent, which lends itself well to the characters' transience throughout the whole story. It feels like they are a little glob of people apart from the world they claim to inhabit, which I suppose is the point. But for such an exciting premise, I felt the writing style got in the way of me really sinking my teeth into this. But I don't think it's entirely the writer's mastery of writing so much as the challenges of conveying voice in translation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deadnaming and Transphobia
neme's review
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Deadnaming
samarakroeger's review
cool cover, cool title, cool premise …
and HORRIBLE execution. Felt absolutely no need to continue after the first 3ish chapters seeing as I did not find the characters interesting in the slightest and I didn’t like the narrative style or vague sense of plot. There are multiple perspectives (personally not a fan, especially in first person). There is a trans character who is talked about in an icky way by the narrator/author. I didn’t recognize this as even a slight dystopia (I read the synopsis a few months ago) until I looked up reviews and figured out that Japan (unnamed) is now underwater and there are climate refugees. This was not really clear to the reader at all, and I feel you need to deliver on it being a “climate book” if you advertise it as such.
and HORRIBLE execution. Felt absolutely no need to continue after the first 3ish chapters seeing as I did not find the characters interesting in the slightest and I didn’t like the narrative style or vague sense of plot. There are multiple perspectives (personally not a fan, especially in first person). There is a trans character who is talked about in an icky way by the narrator/author. I didn’t recognize this as even a slight dystopia (I read the synopsis a few months ago) until I looked up reviews and figured out that Japan (unnamed) is now underwater and there are climate refugees. This was not really clear to the reader at all, and I feel you need to deliver on it being a “climate book” if you advertise it as such.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Deadnaming
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