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mskaedepleaseforgiveme's review against another edition
I was ready to set sail on the Banana boat on a sea full of lost faces, lost places, and liminal spaces like I did in Highschool. My voyage was not smooth sailing, it was full of unbelievably ridiculous characters and their wacky shenanigans that just made me seasick and wanting off the boat.
lausbiana's review against another edition
5.0
sin duda mi libro fav de yoshimoto, y me alegro porque era el último que me quedaba de ella (algunos han sido tan malos que no he pasado de 10 páginas)
008000's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
3.75
the right amount of slice of life - melancholic and nostalgic!
each one of us continues to carry the heart of each self we've ever been, at every stage along the way, and a chaos of everything good and rotten. and we have to carry this weight all alone, through each day that we live. we try to be as nice as we can to the people we love, but we alone support the weight of ourselves.
spinningsloth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
iced_mochas's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Tsugumi is the imperfect hero of this short novel written by Banana Yoshimoto, translated into English by Michael Emmerich. She suffers from a condition that remains unnamed in the story but causes regular severe fevers. Far from being the silently sick character in the background, she is loud, demanding, uncouth, as well as cruelly unhinged at times. The story is written in first person by Tsugumi’s cousin Maria who is raised in a Japanese seaside town at her aunt’s inn. The adolescent drama that unfolds as they pass their days by the ocean is accentuated by laughter and nostalgia. There are wonderful descriptions of the ocean set against Maria’s anxiety over her cousin’s health troubles. Pretty much all the characters were loveable in some way. I picked this up when I needed a not-too-heavy holiday read, but the gentle undertones of loss and grief felt perfect for the current moment. This is my first Yoshimoto novel and I’m sure I’ll come back to this author for more.
robingrey_34's review against another edition
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
marthapayne's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0