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lilaceous's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
characters - .5⭐️
plot -
engaging to read - ⭐️
would recommend - .5⭐️
would read again - ⭐️
reading this was disorienting in the best way. were the endings good? no, not at all!! were the characters great? not really!! did it make sense? nope!!! but it pulled me in so good that by the final story i had moments where i could not discern what was sci-fi and what was realistic. i loved it.
reading this was disorienting in the best way. were the endings good? no, not at all!! were the characters great? not really!! did it make sense? nope!!! but it pulled me in so good that by the final story i had moments where i could not discern what was sci-fi and what was realistic. i loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Gore, Murder, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
savshelfinger's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
reading this as an artifact of its time; wish I could say these stories gripped me more.
the storytelling style is at some points confusing.
the storytelling style is at some points confusing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Suicide
librarycowboy's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Reading Izumi Suzuki's stories, you can tell that she was troubled. The stories shift time and place with little notice, characters are apathetic unless they are experiencing too much. The entire thing feels like a drug trip (not bad, just confusing. As if the story were happening at you and not alongside you).
Unfortunately, a number of the music and pop culture references went over my head; if you have better knowledge than I on that front, and can appreciate a cut-and-paste storytelling style, her works might just be right for you.
Unfortunately, a number of the music and pop culture references went over my head; if you have better knowledge than I on that front, and can appreciate a cut-and-paste storytelling style, her works might just be right for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Suicide, Drug abuse, and War
mariball's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Fatphobia and Gore
A unique set of stories filled with imaginative tales steeped in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. It is of it’s time (body shaming, misogyny), but the themes of alienation, revenge, and conformity she explores remain timeless. Favorite stories: The Covenant, Trial Witch, Full of Malice, My Guy, Memory of Waterabbie_'s review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
My second pick for #WomenInTranslation month was Hit Parade of Tears by Izumi Suzuki, which is a short story collection translated by a team of translators: Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph and Helen O’Horan. I’m assuming that these stories were published in various places before being gathered in this collection, and that different translators worked on different stories. I will say that the tone (or style??) of the stories fluctuated quite a lot, some of them read a little clunkier than others, while some were super smooth and more pleasurable to read.
.
I often just pick up books based on vibes, without paying much attention to the blurb. Based on the cover of this one (which I adore) I was expecting these sci fi stories to be gritty and super grounded in our reality. So I was surprised that a lot them are actually set in outer space, dealing with futuristic technology, aliens, intergalactic politics - a fun surprise honestly! It’s very cool that Suzuki was writing this sort of thing in the 70s as a Japanese woman, when the sci-fi scene back then was even more of a sausage fest than it is today.
.
A few of the stories admittedly did nothing for me, I read them and then could barely tell you what happened after. There were also a few casual homophobic and fatphobic comments thrown in (at one point a woman character says women aren’t scary ‘except for the lesbians’ lol). But there were a few that were great, very unsettling, questioning traditional gender roles in Japanese society (I swear almost all of these stories had a general undertone of ~men are trash~). Some of my faves were Trial Witch, The Covenant and Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise. I think you can really tell that Suzuki has a big influence over contemporary Japanese writer Sayaka Murata, as she often explores the theme of being an outsider, feeling like you don’t belong in this world.
.
Overall a solid collection, a few misses, but I’d definitely pick up Terminal Boredom!
.
I often just pick up books based on vibes, without paying much attention to the blurb. Based on the cover of this one (which I adore) I was expecting these sci fi stories to be gritty and super grounded in our reality. So I was surprised that a lot them are actually set in outer space, dealing with futuristic technology, aliens, intergalactic politics - a fun surprise honestly! It’s very cool that Suzuki was writing this sort of thing in the 70s as a Japanese woman, when the sci-fi scene back then was even more of a sausage fest than it is today.
.
A few of the stories admittedly did nothing for me, I read them and then could barely tell you what happened after. There were also a few casual homophobic and fatphobic comments thrown in (at one point a woman character says women aren’t scary ‘except for the lesbians’ lol). But there were a few that were great, very unsettling, questioning traditional gender roles in Japanese society (I swear almost all of these stories had a general undertone of ~men are trash~). Some of my faves were Trial Witch, The Covenant and Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise. I think you can really tell that Suzuki has a big influence over contemporary Japanese writer Sayaka Murata, as she often explores the theme of being an outsider, feeling like you don’t belong in this world.
.
Overall a solid collection, a few misses, but I’d definitely pick up Terminal Boredom!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia and Lesbophobia
librasgroove's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
3.75
A fun weird little selection of sci fi stories: girls obsessed with their own otherworldliness, brothers consumed in political upheaval, lovers left in mental institutions, intergalactic bounty hunting/baby snatching, and eccentric food stall workers. I love how characters discuss films and music inside of the stories, which isn’t surprising considering Suzuki’s background.
The only aspect that I found shocking was the level of disgust for fat people, specifically fat women.
The only aspect that I found shocking was the level of disgust for fat people, specifically fat women.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Child death, Forced institutionalization, and Gore
br00k3a133n's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
I'm a bit disappointed because I was expecting more out of this. There was a handful of stories that I definitely liked and had some good intriguing things in them, but overall the collection kinda fell flat. At the time these were written I'm sure they were really awesome, but I didn't really click with most of it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Ableism
daphnemarie's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Fatphobia, and Lesbophobia
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