Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
The narrator of the story, Shigematsu Shizuma, is the uncle of a young woman in his care who, it is rumoured in the village, has been affected by the radioactive "black rain" which fell on Hiroshima after the atomic bombing. In order to convince her latest suitor that she is not suffering radiation poisoning, he writes his account of the bombing and the effects he saw in others and in himself.
The account is drawn largely from Shizuma's journal of the war years, but also from that of his niece, Yasuko, and a couple of other people whose paths crossed with his.
There is very little in the way of recrimination against the American's who dropped the bomb, Ibuse is almost completely concerned with the immediate experience of those caught up in the horror of nuclear warfare. The effect is to humanise an event of global significance, bringing it within the scope of personal understanding. A work of great compassion and empathy.
The account is drawn largely from Shizuma's journal of the war years, but also from that of his niece, Yasuko, and a couple of other people whose paths crossed with his.
There is very little in the way of recrimination against the American's who dropped the bomb, Ibuse is almost completely concerned with the immediate experience of those caught up in the horror of nuclear warfare. The effect is to humanise an event of global significance, bringing it within the scope of personal understanding. A work of great compassion and empathy.
A very descriptive compilation of accounts of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This novel is disturbing, as the content should be. Ibuse weaves together several stories. A horrifying and yet imperative read.
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
the rating is for the translation, which i found bland. doesn't really give you a sense of all the different registers of reportage going on, and doesn't do the best job preserving ibuse's style of humor (which is very light and very, very funny even within tragedy).
I can't remember why this book ended up on my TBR nearly four years ago, but I am glad I've read it. Black Rain is a novel, but very closely based on memories and writings about the fallout of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945.
It follows a man (Shigematsu), along with his wife and niece, in the years after the bomb. The niece wants to get married, but they are still dealing with health issues and the general psychological trauma of their experiences. It alternates between their life in the country where Shigematsu is recopying the diaries of each family member to the diary entries themselves from August 1945. The plot design allows the reader to get the interrelated perspectives of each family member during the period immediately during and after the bomb as well as an overarching storyline looking back. This is interesting because the framing of the diaries shows a lot of the confusion of the local Japanese people experiencing this unknown warfare, as well as Shigematsu's clarifications with what he has learned in retrospect.
I was amazed at how organized the disaster response among the community was despite the utter destruction--before the bomb there were all these citizen brigades doing war work, and after, surviving brigades, military, and other groups were responding rapidly. You can also see through the diaries how the characters are dealing or not-dealing emotionally. A lot of the diary writing is very matter-of-fact, which is peculiar to read, but also probably a self-preservation mechanism for the character writing. Walking through Hiroshima in the hours and days after would be paralyzing if one didn't try to mute feelings to just get through. But periodically, some sparse emotional events seep through.
This was a moving and memorable experience--when there is such important material to write, the simplicity in language, style, and daily events is enormously effective. The reader doesn't need more melodrama or complexity; the truth of what happened in Hiroshima is dramatic enough.
It follows a man (Shigematsu), along with his wife and niece, in the years after the bomb. The niece wants to get married, but they are still dealing with health issues and the general psychological trauma of their experiences. It alternates between their life in the country where Shigematsu is recopying the diaries of each family member to the diary entries themselves from August 1945. The plot design allows the reader to get the interrelated perspectives of each family member during the period immediately during and after the bomb as well as an overarching storyline looking back. This is interesting because the framing of the diaries shows a lot of the confusion of the local Japanese people experiencing this unknown warfare, as well as Shigematsu's clarifications with what he has learned in retrospect.
I was amazed at how organized the disaster response among the community was despite the utter destruction--before the bomb there were all these citizen brigades doing war work, and after, surviving brigades, military, and other groups were responding rapidly. You can also see through the diaries how the characters are dealing or not-dealing emotionally. A lot of the diary writing is very matter-of-fact, which is peculiar to read, but also probably a self-preservation mechanism for the character writing. Walking through Hiroshima in the hours and days after would be paralyzing if one didn't try to mute feelings to just get through. But periodically, some sparse emotional events seep through.
This was a moving and memorable experience--when there is such important material to write, the simplicity in language, style, and daily events is enormously effective. The reader doesn't need more melodrama or complexity; the truth of what happened in Hiroshima is dramatic enough.