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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's a short story collection so it's hard to review but I liked 2 stories in particular, the Mole, and the last story. But I did not like the rest of the stories very much, mostly because for most of the short stories I could not see the point for them.
I love collections of short stories, but I guess I’ve become a baby because I think I require a bit more hope in my life. It’s more of a 2.5, but I’m rounding to 3 for the sake of respect. Mole was my favorite story, and I think I’ll hold it dearly in my heart for a good long while. Humans are incredibly silly creatures and they’re so weird and so contradicting. If only I could be a mole with a great wife
This intriguing and absurdly bizarre book delves into the depths of human nature, highlighting the fine line between our humanity and our animalistic tendencies. It offers a unique perspective by allowing us to view humans through the eyes of animals. This collection of short stories stands in a league of its own, where some messages are overt, while others linger, provoking profound contemplation. It's an unparalleled literary experience that defies comparison.
Voin kyllä ihan tunnustaa, että mulla meni Kawakamit sekaisin. Varasin Dragon Palacen kirjastosta siinä uskossa, että olin varannut Mieko Kawakamin (se mm. Breast and Eggs -kirjailija) uusimman kirjan ja vasta kun olin Hiromi Kawakamin teoksen kotiuttanut tajusin, että kyseessä olikin ihan toinen Kawakami.
Dragon Palace koostuu novelleista, joita yhdistäviä teemoja ovat metamorfoosi, ihmisen ja ei-ihmisen välisten rajojen murtuminen sekä ihmisen fyysisten rajojen ylittäminen.
Novelleissa tavataan mm. mies, joka oli aiemmin mustekala, myyrä, joka käy töissä ihmisten työpaikalla ja pelastaa asuntoonsa ihmisiä sekä nainen, jolla on suhde yli 400 vuotta vanhaan esi-isäänsä.
Veikkaan, että Kawakamin novellien taustalla on erityisiä japanilaisia juttuja (satuja ja/tai myyttejä), joita en itse kuitenkaan tunnista, enkä siksi voi niiden suhdetta näihin novelleihin arvioida.
Laajentavaa luettavaa.
Dragon Palace koostuu novelleista, joita yhdistäviä teemoja ovat metamorfoosi, ihmisen ja ei-ihmisen välisten rajojen murtuminen sekä ihmisen fyysisten rajojen ylittäminen.
Novelleissa tavataan mm. mies, joka oli aiemmin mustekala, myyrä, joka käy töissä ihmisten työpaikalla ja pelastaa asuntoonsa ihmisiä sekä nainen, jolla on suhde yli 400 vuotta vanhaan esi-isäänsä.
Veikkaan, että Kawakamin novellien taustalla on erityisiä japanilaisia juttuja (satuja ja/tai myyttejä), joita en itse kuitenkaan tunnista, enkä siksi voi niiden suhdetta näihin novelleihin arvioida.
Laajentavaa luettavaa.
These Kawakami's stories, reminded me massively of Sayaka Murata's and also of her Earthlings. The extensive use of Japanese legends, anthropomorphized animals and the stories often full of disgusting details, but above all this way of writing in the first person that however never gets involved, as if the things that happen to the main protagonist who is also the narrator, happen to someone else. This then is a style that seems to me to be rather transversal in current Japanese authors but I don't particularly like it, because I feel like I'm looking at the whole thing through a dirty window.
Questi racconti della Kawakami, mi hanno ricordato in modo evidente quelli di Sayaka Murata ed anche il suo Terrestri. L'uso massiccio di leggende giapponesi, animali antropomorfizzati e le storie spesso piene di dettagli disgustosi, ma soprattutto questo modo di raccontare in prima persona che peró non si lascia mai coinvolgere, come se le cose che accadono al protagonista principale, che é anche il narratore, succedessero a qualcun altro. Questo poi é uno stile che mi sembra piuttosto trasversale negli autori giapponesi attuali, ma a me non piace particolarmente, perché mi sembra di guardare il tutto da una finestra sporca.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
Questi racconti della Kawakami, mi hanno ricordato in modo evidente quelli di Sayaka Murata ed anche il suo Terrestri. L'uso massiccio di leggende giapponesi, animali antropomorfizzati e le storie spesso piene di dettagli disgustosi, ma soprattutto questo modo di raccontare in prima persona che peró non si lascia mai coinvolgere, come se le cose che accadono al protagonista principale, che é anche il narratore, succedessero a qualcun altro. Questo poi é uno stile che mi sembra piuttosto trasversale negli autori giapponesi attuali, ma a me non piace particolarmente, perché mi sembra di guardare il tutto da una finestra sporca.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
Another fine collection from Hiromi Kawakami, who continues to bewilder and astound and discomfit with her fiction. Here we have eight stories that feature everything from an octopus con man, kitchen gods, a meditation on turds (don’t ask me to repeat it, you read it right the first time) and a woman who falls in love with her 400-year-old ancestor. All the characters in these stories strive for something - mostly to love and be loved and to find a modicum of happiness. Kawakami’s prose is plain, matter-of-fact even. This is no insult. The simplicity only makes her fiction all the weirder and funnier and shocking. There’s nowhere to hide when you read a Kawakami story, and that’s what I love about her work.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A