Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide
The novel started innocently enough. Mari is a young girl who helps her mother in running a simple hotel somewhere in Japan. One night, a prostitute-looking lady comes screaming out of her room, and the man who induced this screaming is a simple-looking man, quite in his golden years.
Mari is captivated by this man, and when she gets the chance to see this man outside of the hotel, she follows him, curious to know – what exactly? – this man. What follows from there is a reluctant dance between the two, one so obviously pulling at the other, while the other subconsciously submitting to the one.
It’s like a love story. A very disturbing love story. Or maybe it’s not really a love story. It’s a story of obsession, of some crazy, unexplainable part of our minds and hearts that is so dark and twisted, that we probably never knew existed. Or maybe we do know it, only we’ve never allowed it to surface, to peek through, or to even admit that it’s there.
Mari is captivated by this man, and when she gets the chance to see this man outside of the hotel, she follows him, curious to know – what exactly? – this man. What follows from there is a reluctant dance between the two, one so obviously pulling at the other, while the other subconsciously submitting to the one.
It’s like a love story. A very disturbing love story. Or maybe it’s not really a love story. It’s a story of obsession, of some crazy, unexplainable part of our minds and hearts that is so dark and twisted, that we probably never knew existed. Or maybe we do know it, only we’ve never allowed it to surface, to peek through, or to even admit that it’s there.
Primär verstörend, aber auch faszinierend. Eine Beziehung zwischen einem Paar mit 50 Jahren Altersunterschied, die jegliche Klischees von sexueller Nötigung und Ausbeutung sowie Machtgefälle und jugendliche Naivität und fehlendes Selbstbewusstsein veranschaulicht, die einem zu solch einer Konstellation in den Kopf kommen. Dass die sexuellen Aspekte im Sadomaso-Bereich liegen fördert die Groteskheit der Situation.
Those looking for another happy Housekeeper and the Professor type novel be warned: this book is dark and S&M-y, and the characters sketchy at best. See my full review at the Open Letter website at http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/index.php?id=2626
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sweet suffering Jesus. What a novel. It’s brilliantly written for sure but the content? Of course the relationship between the old man and the seventeen year old girl is a shop that only sells red flags but it gets worse!
Would I recommend this novel? Only because of the writing and mari’s well developed and nuanced character, yes but I wouldn’t because it’s not an easy subject to be associated with
Would I recommend this novel? Only because of the writing and mari’s well developed and nuanced character, yes but I wouldn’t because it’s not an easy subject to be associated with
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes