Reviews

Chandelier: An Original Story by Mieko Kawakami

laurynreads's review

I don’t rate short stories, but glad to have been given this IBD exclusive with my order last year and happy to have finally read something by Kawakami! Makes me wanna pick up Breast and Eggs soon

sanmeow's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

the premise of 'a story about a woman who spends all her time in a department store. not working there. just being there' immediately drew me in. and mieko kawakami didn't disappoint, since she seems incapable of writing something i dislike. anyway, even in such a short story kawakami manages to do some excellent commentary on issues that she's addressed in her other work too. she talks about things such as womanhood, beauty standards, misogyny, mental health issues, family issues, etc. i absolutely loved the atmosphere and mieko kawakami's writing style was amazing as always. so good ♡ 

kitta's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

kelly_c's review

dark reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

missapples's review

5.0

As usual, Mieko Kawakami is able to grasp at something very deep, very emotional, very strange in her reader and wrench it out into the air. Her writing is vivid, poetic and deceptively simple.

“Chandelier” is about a woman who spends her days at the luxury mall. She is not wealthy in the usual sense of the word, but she is able to buy Chanel and Cartier nonetheless. Soon enough it is revealed to us how she came to have so much money. Nothing criminal or unsavory whatsoever, yet she is someone who has been hurt in the past. While strolling through the mall she finds herself at a Gucci store. There she meets a wealthy old woman and the two strike up a friendly conversation that turns into a pleasant day of shopping together. What happens next is a small but deeply disturbing turn of events that Kawakami throws at the unsuspecting reader the way only she can. Brilliant.
I hope a collection of her short stories will be coming out soon enough because her writing is fantastic.

I loved it.

alspacedout's review

mysterious fast-paced

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

1.5

I kinda get what she was trying to go for, but overall it was pretty dull, didn't really get anything out of reading it. Super short at least.

kellyannforever's review

fast-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

3.25

janiswong's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Wow, an incredible short that was a real unexpected page turner. It felt as if the main character was speaking directly to me and inviting me to listen into her story. Will definitely be picking up more works by the author.

magerman's review

reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

galaxykat's review

dark mysterious reflective

3.5