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lauralhart's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting concept—disseminating history, rumors, and gossip through the conversations of local drunks—but too short, in my opinion, to adequately deal with all the weighty ideas behind it. I also questioned the choice of narrator.
mimooo's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
local capitalists militarists racists and abusers destroy the local landscape and social relations over generations, causing the sea to release demonic forces and manipulate time so that the people won’t forget history but by then it’s too late ….. written and structured really masterfully
wykaiput's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
serenedancer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book is just one person telling us a lot of other people's stories that all live in this town. It's just stuff that happens. And then it just ends.
I kept expecting there to be some kind of magical realism based on the description of the book and that is definitely not a thing. I don't know if that was like a misunderstanding on my part or if that is something the book indicates. But if you were expecting it, it's not there.
Also she continuously is having a relationship with her teacher and it is never remarked upon.
I kept expecting there to be some kind of magical realism based on the description of the book and that is definitely not a thing. I don't know if that was like a misunderstanding on my part or if that is something the book indicates. But if you were expecting it, it's not there.
Also she continuously is having a relationship with her teacher and it is never remarked upon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Violence
antireading's review against another edition
Put down, didn't have full attention. Difficult to read and wasn't in right headspace
chelseamartinez's review against another edition
4.0
In very few pages this fishing village is fleshed out thoroughly and grotesquely; the unrepentant cruelty of neighborhood children to an old woman that the adults won't stop; the deer (or not) accidentally hit by an expensive new car by the dad who's a cop; fish rotting on a boat in the sun; the abuse of a pig, etc. The time period seems impossible to pinpoint.
jakeyjake's review against another edition
5.0
There’s so much said without being said in this short novel about a coastal town and its residents. Ono is brilliant.
kristenjiannotti's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I really thought that I was going to enjoy this novella as a character study set on the shores of a Japanese Island.. However, the ideas here were just disjointed. It seemed as though the author had perhaps one too many ideas and was having difficulties trying to connect them. We had what seemed to be a murder mystery, a forbidden teacher-student relationship, a new-to-town narrative, and small town secrets, none of which were fully developed within 160 pages. There were far too many characters that we didn't really get to know, nor did we really get to know our main character/narrator. Great ideas, poor execution.