Reviews

The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada

kaitays's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.5

This book wasn’t bad, but I had no desire to really read it. I just tolerated it. What made it worse was how it was written. You truly didn’t know who was talking, what setting it was in, and it jumped time periods with little indication. That made it even more difficult to read. Many of the sentences, paragraphs, and overall text were jumbled together. No indentations or moving it to a new line. On top of that, the concept wasn’t very compelling. The only redeeming quality was the ending and

how the worker who was stagnant at the job got turned into the bird that all the characters gawked at previously.

Beyond that, it didn’t intrigue me.

The unnecessary pantser person/plotline, who would almost pants people.

I guess that spoke to how not knowing where the factory ended and your life began could cause you to go crazy, but that’s a stretch. The random hate the sister had for the brother’s girlfriend. Whatever the reason, the need for Fururhe and the girl to have lunch. Why was the bridge focused so heavily? So many things that just didn’t really add to the concept. What I really think it was trying to do was call on the worker and their dedication to their job for survival, but how the job gives them nothing. I get there’s some deeper meaning. Maybe I’ll revisit one day.
I eventually looked up an article to try to make sense of it all. I liked this articles take a lot. https://thelondonmagazine.org/review-the-factory-by-hiroko-oyamada/#:~:text=The%20novella%20chronicles%20the%20spectre,enigmatically%20as%20'The%20Factory'

 

Initial Response: 2/5; Recommend?: 1/5; Re-Readability: 1/5 Characters: 2/5; Plot: 2/5

Overall: 1.6/5  
Would Purchase?: No 

bookshelfbybub's review against another edition

mysterious reflective 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? No

2.0

Beyond establishing a deeply unsettling tone, this book did absolutely nothing for me. If one wishes to tackle the topic of labor and society, one should have something to say about it. The characters, who were all remarkably boring, all ask the question “why am I here?” But, no attempt at an answer or evaluation of the meaningless system they find themselves in is made. The book starts nowhere and it ends nowhere. The book itself is as meaningless as the factory life it portrays.

sammiethehammie's review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

trulybooked's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

jamiemonville's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-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? No

3.0

bookworm_42's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

_pickle_'s review against another edition

challenging dark 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? No

5.0

A surreal nightmare of a book which is fitting giving modern work is its subject. The calm, measured prose does a wonderful job of creating a bizarre, confusing feel, aided by (at first disturbing then I eventually figured out what was happening) abrupt and unmarked transitions between different character PoVs.  

ezrasupremacy's review

3.0

2.5 ⭐️

i liked the premise of this, but it just didn’t feel very engaging, which may be the fault of the translation, i don’t really know.

pienwvs's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

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

3.0

confusing

camillesim's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5