Reviews

Finger Bone by Takami Nieda, Hiroki Takahashi

thegloomth's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

5.0

daines's review against another edition

sad

4.5

jayisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

This was a hard novel to read. As short as it may seem, it took me a number of days to finish this one, mostly because the emotional weight of this book was so heavy. Set in the Pacific halfway through WWII, the novel is narrated by an unnamed Japanese soldier observing day-to-day life at a field hospital, where he is recovering from an injury. What I found interesting about this novel was Takahashi’s decision to show the futility of war not in literal trenches, but, rather, primarily in a quiet environment for the injured and dying.

I will fully admit that I picked up this book with some skepticism, as it was from the perspective of a Japanese soldier during WWII and translated from Japanese. I had a sense that the atrocities committed by Japan during the twentieth century would not be covered, which… more or less was the case. It became clear as the novel progressed, though, that Takahashi had a somewhat different intention, which was to show how the soldiers were almost unthinkingly trusting a government that didn’t reveal the full picture to them. The soldiers were led to believe that their side was winning the war; they cheerfully discussed how the indigenous people of the island they were on (the Kanak) would have to learn Japanese to prepare for inevitable tourism once the war ends; and they were fed misinformation about how the Allied forces were doing. The narrator’s belief in his government wavered as morale dropped over the course of the novel, not so much because he believed his side was in the wrong, so much as it was to question the purpose of war.

I still can’t quite place my finger on what about this novel didn’t completely work for me, but, overall, it was interesting reading from a different perspective and at a less-talked-about location during WWII.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, Death, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide

kylaoren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

wassir13's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.75

My dad fought in New Guinea during WWII.  He talked about it sparingly. Fingerbone is a snippet of that campaign from a Japanese soldier’s point of view, sad, intense, a literary work rather than a typical war novel. Now I know why my father didn’t talk much about the experience. 

katja_weinert's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

mouhy's review against another edition

5.0

This is an absolute masterpiece. It needs to be part of the war fiction canon everywhere. No filler or fluff or needlessly flowery prose, every word is accounted for and does exactly what it needs to do. The result is oddly poetic and transformative. Definitely more than the sum of its 80-odd pages.

mj_trearty's review against another edition

5.0

This is a very powerful little book and an interesting view on WW2 from a Japanese perspective as they failed to defeat the allies on Papua New Guinea. 

My rating is not based on enjoyment, it is a difficult read dealing with the traumas of war, but it is brilliant in its poetic language, its clear depiction of the effects and its strong anti-war sentiment and that is why it has 5*. As a comparison I would say it is in a similar mold to At Night All Blood is Black with the physical and psychological effects of war, though this one is much more poetic and better, in my humble opinion.

The story is mostly linear, aside from one or two flashbacks, and tells the narrator's story from being taken to PNG, the traversing of the island and attempted assault on the west where the American Army base was. Our protagonist is injured in battle and is taken to a field hospital where he witnesses the plethora of injured and diseased soldiers, the lack of medical supplies and the hopelessness of the situation. 

There are lovely relationships formed, but being at war we know they are not going to last, there is a nod to the power of human spirit but also the limits where that spirit will eventually break, and the interactions with local tribes is insightful as well as seeing a part of the war that is not often told. We know about the atomic bombs and the Pearl Harbour attacks but apart from that my knowledge of WW2 does not extend to the Pacific Ocean.

Overall a very compelling and worthwhile read, though not a happy one.

charlotte_molloy_'s review against another edition

Paled in comparison to The Storm We Made which tackles a similar storyline at a similar time in a similar country, but with far more memorable characters that you identify with immediately and root for. 

The writing of this didn't dazzle, the characters were forgettable and ultimately after 40% the story didn't seem to be going anywhere. 

yellagal57's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Such a powerful little book! It ranks up there with other books like All Quiet on the Western Front.