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the_sunken_library's review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully written, this novella is set in a post-apocalyptic Japan where an ecological disaster gifts the older generations with immortality and the generations still to be born with short, painful lives.
It focuses on the lives of a great grandfather and his great grandson, their loneliness, mundane routines and constant observation of an ever changing landscape.
Incredibly whimsical but disjointed. The blurb gave it a coherent plotline - it doesn't have this. It is a contemplation about humanity and what it is that makes us, well, us. How government's react to disasters and the way the unknown and unexplainable can make us more insular.
It focuses on the lives of a great grandfather and his great grandson, their loneliness, mundane routines and constant observation of an ever changing landscape.
Incredibly whimsical but disjointed. The blurb gave it a coherent plotline - it doesn't have this. It is a contemplation about humanity and what it is that makes us, well, us. How government's react to disasters and the way the unknown and unexplainable can make us more insular.
anagraham's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kombucha_coordinated's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.5
Level of confusion at the end was brutal… not sure what happened there, lost the plot. Beautiful nonetheless!
nealagrace's review against another edition
3.0
a short, strange but lovely read. whenever I read books in translation I wish I got to experience them in the original language because some of the choices in this one I found to be odd, not in a bad way just odd. So it made me curious how the original would have read and how different would it have been. but I really enjoyed. short and abstract and kind of dystopian. I’m not sure I understand everything I just read, in fact I know I don’t. not very structured at all and kind of whimsical, as much as post-apocalyptic Tokyo can be whimsical. Giving this 3.5 stars, if I read it again I think it would probably get bumped up to 4 stars in still just processing.
rrrebeccajayne's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
austre_yoon's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
carla_leah's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
0.5
dbert's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
It's a little hard to forget that it's a translation since the story relies heavyly on language, but the world Tawada writes is so original and fascinating that I got over it. A lot of strong images and weird concepts, an entirely novel post apocalyptic world. I especially loved the Mumei point of views towards the end.