Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Terminal Boredom

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki

7 reviews

leahrosereads's review

dark reflective medium-paced

3.75

This was an incredibly bleak, hard to read collection of dystopian sci-fi made that much more heartbreaking knowing how the author's story ended.

The stories were introspective and sparked conversations or commentary around mental health, gender identity, and internal struggles with being perceived.

While each story was written in the 80s or earlier, there's a modern lens around a lot of the topics, especially mental health stigmatization.

Content Warnings

pran's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but I really enjoyed it. The writing style felt much more blunt than what I usually read, but there were some really beautiful sentences in there, and they often caught me by surprise, which made them all the more punchy. I loved the ideas Suzuki played with in the stories, and the ambivalence she feels towards the developments in technology in her stories. So much of what she wrote was prescient, in an almost scary way. I am excited to read around this book, as I know there has been some interesting criticism and theory around it. The influences of Suzuki's own life on her stories were really interesting to read and I have never seen the sexual/romantic relationships between men and women explored in quite the same way in any other speculative fiction I've read. Interesting to compare and contrast the ideas in Octavia Butler or Margaret Atwood's work with this, and the differences between the American second-wave feminist sci-fi and this Japanese work.
I'm also looking forward to reading her other book Hit Parade of Tears.

If you are interested, there is a very good article about Terminal Boredom on LitHub.

Content Warnings

samdalefox's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

Average rating of all short stories = 3.17 ⭐, please see individual ratings below.

I'm so happy I finally get to read Suzuki's works in English! Her work and ideas were clearly trailblazing for the time, some stories I think have aged better than others, all are valuable to read. It's important to note that this is a collection of Suzuki’s work ~40 years after being released and 35 years after she died by suicide in 1986. I think a short introduction at the beginning would be beneficial here to contextualise the stories, additionally notes on the translators and their translations could be insightful.

The theme of Suzuki’s collection is the commentary and critique of the arbitruness performance of gender roles in society, sexuality, womanhood/identity and how invasive the government and technology is. Suzuki reminds me of Tiptree Jr. in this respect, however Suzuki more directly questions the gender binary, her writing style is much more dialogue-focused and has many pop culture film and music references. Suzuki's scifi/speculative elements do not truly affect the stories, but are rather settings to study and observe the characters.

Only the tititular story grabbed my attention. Mostly I found that the stories' ennui and narrative tone very similar, making the transition between stories barely distinguishable. However 'Terminal Bordem' spoke to me. The descriptions of boredom are SPOT ON. The small glimpse of the world the characters live in was grimly relatable. The last words

"The boredom is gone".

was like a punch to the gut. WHY?! Why is it gone? Because of the sex? Because of the regret? The chemical-induced contentness from the implant? The exercising of autonomy and authority? The performance of domination masculinity through violence? Something finally felt real to her? It was by far the best story of the collection.

Excerpt from a review: Izumi Suzuki, Terminal Boredom (2021) by Ola G:

"I must say the stories’ mood affected me a little: the pervasive ennui, unhappiness, despair hidden beneath a very thin surface of the bustle of everyday life are depicted in a thoroughly realistic way....Suzuki’s stories are focused predominantly on creating a certain mood and exploring mostly psychological ideas of alienation, addiction, exhaustion; there is barely any action, worldbuilding, or even character development.

Reading stories from the late seventies/early eighties requires a layered approach: how do I respond to and understand the book in the present—while at the same time holding an awareness that these stories come from a specific historical moment? For example, the gender politics of “Woman and Woman” and its treatment of trans-ness or sexual consent read as a product of their era; recall work by writers like Joanna Russ or James Tiptree, Jr. in the Anglophone publishing sphere for comparison. On that note, I’d argue it’s a curatorial misstep on the editors’ part that Terminal Boredom doesn’t include an introduction—or even notes on the original publication dates, in the edition I read.

The women of these stories are also all outsiders, to some extent or another. Suzuki frequently centers the experience of being a person for whom connection, desire, and strong emotion don’t come readily."

Ratings and quotes from individual stories within the collection:

Women and women - 3⭐

"But it’s precisely because they don’t know about the dreadful stuff that ignorant people are able to be so confident."

"Not entirely sure whether it was for or against males and masculinity or not. Never quite broke the binary."

You may dream - 3⭐

"It scares me how everyone’s so cool about it, but I guess that’s the world we live in. Everyone’s so numb they can’t even take life seriously anymore —’"

"Like most people these days, I don’t overthink things. I’ll go along with whatever. No firm beliefs, no hang-ups. Just a lack of self-confidence tangled up in fatalistic resignation. Whatever the situation, nothing ever reaches me on an emotional level. Nothing’s important. Because I won’t let it be. I operate on mood alone. No regrets, no looking back."

"I can act all kinds of ways, but in the end it’s always an act."

Night picnic - 3⭐

"Eyes open to the night, they pondered time and the liberty of other living things"

"Once upon a time, we lived in peace. We may not have manufactured or consumed, but our existences were rich."

The old seaside club - 3⭐

"I had absolutely no friends before this year. It was a serious problem – and not one that could be easily explained away by shyness or introversion. I did have an idea of why people didn’t like me, but I just wasn’t prepared to admit it. I consoled myself by deciding that I hated other people and had no desire to love anyone"

You know, lately,’ I begin, slowly, ‘I’m finding it hard to identify what happiness and pleasure are.’
He looks up.
‘Well … Does it matter? If something feels good, that’s pleasure.’ He gives a weak laugh. ‘Nothing more to it.’

Things gets easier once you acknowledge the situation.’
‘That’s right. Even if you don’t solve anything. It’s the same with my own illness, too.

"It's not a good habit, to want to solve everything."

"Reboots are about letting go, and accepting things."

Smoke gets in your eyes - 3⭐

"The difference between cold and cruel is that to be cruel, you need to have feelings but to be cold, you don’t, right?."

Forgotten - 3.5⭐

"Can’t you see it’s got nothing whatsoever to do with love for one’s country? If anything, it’s a form of territorial egotism." (On empire and nationalism)

"My home planet is no match for Earth in terms of scientific and technological development, but at least most people there consider how they want to live their lives. Our history is unfathomably long, and yet there have been only five wars recorded – including a couple of really small-scale ones. And the last of those wrapped up over two millennia ago."

Terminal bordem - 3.75⭐

"Everyone lives in a happy-go-lucky depression – they only take life half-seriously, you might say."

"Even in this day and age, we still revere truth. But at the same time, we devote ourselves to the task of erasing the distinction between truth and fiction."

Content Warnings

yuyuv's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

islesbiyana's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

Women and Women — 1 / 5

“And they even had the audacity to claim that this, this was the greatest characteristic of mankind – this zealous pursuit of adventure, romance, all things that were utterly useless in everyday life.”

You May Dream — 3.5 / 5

“Whatever the situation, nothing ever reaches me on an emotional level. Nothing’s important. Because I won’t let it be. I operate on mood alone. No regrets, no looking back. Before me, the world stretches out flat, smooth and featureless. Gentle and inconstant.”

Night Picnic — 2 / 5

“They held themselves and their children to impossible ideals. Their pursuit of the history of their ancestors, too, was a function of their desire for peace of mind.”

The Old Seaside Club — 1.75 / 5

“And now, he’s merely watching himself drift on – watching, wholly numbed, and without emotion. I doubt he could even muster the energy to try and understand anyone else. In that head of his, there probably isn’t much difference between me and his old guitar. And he isn’t trying to hurt anyone – no, not at all. He’s just … checked out.”

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes — 2.5 / 5

“A wonderful moment – the joy of knowing that my own creation and the creation of the universe are intimately connected. The certainty that the present was predetermined. Yes, that’s it. We will return millions of times over. Life might merely be a momentary bolt of lightning in the dark, after which the self melts into the infinite darkness. But it means that we will continue forever without interruption. I was filled with a baseless delight. Time flowed even slower. It was taking on a sense of eternity.”

Forgotten — 1. 75 / 5

“The world around them went on moving, regardless of their desires or their feelings, like a huge river. Its surface might appear calm, but charging along its bottom was a fast, powerful current, exerting a silent pressure on them. Emma was enveloped in a feeling of unbearable loneliness.”

Terminal Boredom — 3 / 5

“Hell is keeping a low profile these days, and the whole country is under the spell of this image of Heaven. The difference, though, is that with Hell at least you know what you’re getting. But with Heaven, everything’s ambiguous. There are no actively good feelings, just a passive, ambiguous contentment.”

Overall Rating — 2.75 stars ★★☆☆☆
TW/CWS: — sexism/misogyny, implied rape, depression & mental health in general, transmisogyny & transmasculinity, prejudice against masc./butch women, mentioned suicide, multiple murders

Grim. Dreadful. Bleak.

lzumi Suzuki drifts between peculiar worlds—from the saturnine, to the intimate—with a parity of dream-like numbness befogging over each tale. From start to finish, Terminal Boredom unceremoniously lives up to its title, and not just because of what looms within the atmosphere.

A premise that tackles life's ennui featured through alternate settings is severely dependent on how the author is able to lull the reader into it. Terminal Boredom suffers from dull writing—and not in a way where it meshes perfectly and accurately with the ambience, unfortunately, no. In the midst of ennui, there lies absurd and morbid comedy that doesn't quite land. Repetition in dialogue to put emphasis can work at times, but here, it overstayed its welcome. It was a tire to witness the exact same point get rinsed and repeated in the exact same tone, diminishing its effectiveness into indistinguishable meandering.

Despite Suzuki's gallery of distinct-on-paper worlds, each one of them felt empty—devoid of immersion. Attractive and mystic concepts on the first look, but upon close inspection, they're utterly devoid of the substance, the merits, that you'd expect from the craft. Admittedly, multiple passages did manage to put my own core emotions and beliefs into the proper, bittersweet words. However, the inconsistency, painfully dry execution, and the questionable backtrack to the mediocrity overweigh the values, the occasional silver linings, whose impact probably wouldn't work for everyone.

And, lastly, this is simply a gripe from a transgender and gender non-conforming reader, but I must admit that the concepts shown in the first story… didn't sit quite well with me. The women throughout the book have mostly expressed resistance towards patriarchal standards/roles and cisheteronormativity, which I do admire. I do have to applaud Suzuki's forwardness when it comes to discussing these topics, which I don't doubt might've lured misogynistic backlash at the time. However, the disdain Women and Women's protagonist has towards women who exhibit physical and/or behavioral attributes that are masculine, simply because they are "mostly practiced by men" is distasteful at best, anti-transmasculine at worst. That sort of viewpoint is one of my biggest concerns upon consuming feminist writings, especially when they're older and written through cisgender lens. I absolutely do not apply the character's prejudice with the late author's own beliefs, whatever they may have been. I simply feel the need to point out that the book's feminism loses a bit of credibility due to that. I had wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt at first—chalked up its unchallenged inclusion to it being purposeful to the overall critique—, but the assurance that theory provided eventually dwindled as I skimmed through the preceding stories. I can't help but be left confused over the protagonist's ability to criticize absurd patriarchal roles (ex.: upholding dynamics such as husband/wife or mother/father), yet she turns her nose up at the sight of women with facial hair or ones who appear more masculine by taking male hormones.

While I do think that the core themes within this anthology have so much value that are still important to discuss today, I personally believe that there are alternate Japanese books that handle them (or, the manner of how they are conceptualized at least) with more grace and nuances that can be considered over this one. Perhaps it fared better during its time period. Perhaps the original text still manages to leave an effective and refreshing take on radical ideologies, especially for Japanese readers. Either way, to me, Terminal Boredom has been a bleak collection of dystopian tales centered on feminism and mental health that felt like a half-empty glass of plain, tasteless tap water: unsatisfactory and sparse disposition with only the knowledge of its renowned essentials keeping you from wasting it.

Content Warnings

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

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3.0

Content Warnings

nargott's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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