Reviews

i fw this book
it's interesting
longer review later maybe

edit: sensuous prose, very fast read (-3h with close-ish reading); very interesting characters and symbolism. interesting details and a lot to do research with about meiji/modern era japan. bc if this is a realistic portrayal of their people's obsession with the west id be freaked tf out

tiny bit supernatural at the end. i like novels that depict depravity and degeneracy esp in the narrator. will not reread anytime soon

nmcannon's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

YES, I am here because of Bungo Stray Dogs, leave me alone.

Salaryman Jōjo is a man obsessed with the West and Western culture. He longs to be stylish and handsome, but fears his “too Japanese,” masculine looks will never fit his inner ideal. One day he stops by his favorite café, and a new waitress, Naomi, serves his coffee. Jōjo sees traditional white features in her face and envisions a life in which they indulge in modern pleasures of movies, fashion, and theaters. He makes his dream a reality, taking Naomi in as his bride and purchasing a house where they can play out their exoticized racial fantasies. Under Jōjo’s dubious tutelage, Naomi matures into an educated woman who turns the tables on her husband.

Naomi is exactly as advertised. A twenty-eight year old idiotic, pretentious man takes in a fifteen year old girl, so he can treat her as a pet and dress-up doll. I’m not sure what the Japanese word for this is, but he’s like a reverse weeaboo? He, and later Naomi, are obsessed with the West, with whiteness. Tanizaki lambasts Jōjo ruthlessly, and the man more than deserves it. I was greatly reminded of a version of My Fair Lady wherein Eliza puts Higgins’ head on a pike. While the novel is from Jōjo’s point of view, you can peek through his blind spots to witness Naomi come into her own. She marvels at the quixotic mix of new freedom and restraint Jōjo’s middle class life grants her. It was immensely rewarding to watch her build her Charisma/Manipulation stat and get what she wants.

While reading, I kept returning to a certain passage of Jōjo’s narration. Jōjo says that men enjoy being deceived by women. According to him, men are always, actually in control, and they only let women think they’re manipulating them. This type of misogynistic thinking (in the novel and irl) has no basis in reality, obviously, but served an interesting function in the novel. One example would be Naomi and Jōjo’s chess matches. In the beginning, Naomi is unfamiliar with chess, and Jōjo wins every match. She protests, and Jōjo makes mistakes so she can win the subsequent matches. As the games continue, Naomi wins even when Jōjo makes no mistakes. Jōjo thinks magic has occurred, or that he’s become senile with age. What has actually happened is Naomi became good at chess. Naomi takes advantage of Jōjo’s sexist thinking to build her skills.

Naomi is a great novel and a great character. It was fascinating to watch a guy fail to be a father, teacher, romantic partner, hobbyist, and compassionate human being. It was even more fascinating to watch a young woman rise in social power and prominence in a society set against her.

nom_themouse's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

3.5

viraaptrh's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

magtattle's review against another edition

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3.0

"If you think that my account is foolish, please go ahead and laugh. If you think that there's a moral in it, then, please let it serve as a lesson. For myself, it makes no difference what you think of me; I'm in love with Naomi."

It was a hard read: at times pissing me off until I had to put it down, making me snort-laugh with utter dislike toward all of its characters. Still, I cannot deny that the characters are quite intricately written in terms of the masochistic relationship. Despite my disgust for the protagonists, the dynamic game of control is quite cleverly solved: Joji has the finances and sets the terms at first, but their contract is a self-deceptive one. Naomi never needed Joji as much as he did her, and when she did, his narcissistic desire for his "project" gave her the leverage. As a project, Naomi was being cultivated, but the more time and effort Joji put into creating her character, the more of himself and, thus, power she gave her until she had Joji's unwavering attention. Letting go of her meant letting go of his creation, his ego, so he willingly bowed down. There is a joke to be made of Joji as the personification of patriarchy (adoring and objectifying women, raising them up, yet at the same time shackling them from fear of their influence), but I don't have the means to make it. He is foolish, but there is a moral in it: there is a fickle line between being in control, and being controlled. Moreover, you give power to what you adore.

kaitoxi's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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