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mrangelmarino's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
alice_pyper's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
nschank's review
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
4.5
interesting stories. kinda depressing tho but i guess that's kind of the point.
goodusernam's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ezzamc's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.75
This collection of short stories is certainly worth reading to make your own opinions. I feel that only three of the stories stood out to me (1, 6 and 7). Some of the shorter middle stories were difficult to get through. I'd recommend trying to read them as separately as possible - its often hard to distinguish characters etc. Maybe on purpose? Maybe not. Would recommend but probably not read again soon.
eld's review
4.0
My thoughts throughout all of these were more or less the same. It'd just be pure disappointment and hatred in the beginning, then in the middle those feelings would be switched to confusion and awe bc the writing is truly amazing, and an ending which ends all(most) of the confusion and ties the stories in a truly beautiful way. I feel like these stories are the definition of “trust the process.”
Women and Women; 4/5 stars
‘Time passes, the planet has its many histories, and things decline. That’s all there is to it.’
So short but so impactful. How the writer was able to perfectly capture and easily make me understand the worldbuilding from page 1 is crazy. The next pages, few as they are, add so much depth to the characters mentioned.
You May Dream; 3/5 stars
In the waking world, I obsess over the superficial. I devote myself to the acme of emptiness. And that devotion infiltrates my dreams, the world of my unconscious. Covered in thick plastic – that’s how I’ve made myself. Over years and years. The sadistic act of self-creation.
Is this what they call dissociation? I was confused throughout (Was that meant to happen? Am I stupid? Is it just poor writing? I’ll never know.) Whenever there is dialogue, it never tells you who is who, so it was pretty hard to follow through at first. The narrator also seemed to switch personalities and views of herself every other page, which was pretty cool but made it difficult to grasp her actual feelings. After a while of reading, though, it started making sense. I became fully invested; I understood what was happening, I was able to understand who was talking and it just clicked.
Night Picnic; 2/5 stars
Why do you insist on role-playing as Earthlings – or whatever riffraff you purport to be? You can be free, without such pageantries of humankind.
Huh?? Are they humans, are they aliens??
That old seaside club; 5/5 stars
‘Don’t worry. The world won’t stop spinning. It’ll keep going, even if you don’t want it to. On and on, until you’re absolutely sick of it.’
Wowww. A fantasy rehab? This is amazing. I wonder if the reason the author can portray addicts so well is because of her husband who died of overdose. Most of these stories follow a similar plotline.
Smoke gets in your eyes; 4/5 stars
“Last week? It seems like only two or three hours ago that we last met. Oh, that’s right. It was last week. But why does it feel so firmly attached to now?”
Is she the old woman? Is the narrator Reiko? It’s the middle of exams and I’m still not quite over processing this.
Forgotten; 5/5
Her dissolute lifestyle lent itself to forgetting the little things
This perfectly captured our world. How most of our problems come from forgetting, This was really an interesting take and I was truly invested. Sol compares Earth to Meelie, claiming that Meelians never forget, and that’s why they’re so unified. He claims that the reason a war hasn’t been waged in Meelie for more than a millenia is because they never got over their fear from the first war, and that that fear was so strong it started being passed on in their genes and that that is the reason they’re so peaceful.
It also really highlights on how greedy we are, how Meelie was invaded for being seen as “backward” just because their main source of income was agriculture and that they were filled with resources. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? \
This was super fun to read, and it really gave me a new perspective on how our world operates.
(too much yapping, sorry)
Terminal boredom; 3/5
’Please, say something. I love you, for starters. You’re my angel – no, my devil, my lovely devil. I mean it.’
Is it weird to say that their super dull dialogue is how I think everyday?
Women and Women; 4/5 stars
‘Time passes, the planet has its many histories, and things decline. That’s all there is to it.’
So short but so impactful. How the writer was able to perfectly capture and easily make me understand the worldbuilding from page 1 is crazy. The next pages, few as they are, add so much depth to the characters mentioned.
You May Dream; 3/5 stars
In the waking world, I obsess over the superficial. I devote myself to the acme of emptiness. And that devotion infiltrates my dreams, the world of my unconscious. Covered in thick plastic – that’s how I’ve made myself. Over years and years. The sadistic act of self-creation.
Is this what they call dissociation? I was confused throughout (Was that meant to happen? Am I stupid? Is it just poor writing? I’ll never know.) Whenever there is dialogue, it never tells you who is who, so it was pretty hard to follow through at first. The narrator also seemed to switch personalities and views of herself every other page, which was pretty cool but made it difficult to grasp her actual feelings. After a while of reading, though, it started making sense. I became fully invested; I understood what was happening, I was able to understand who was talking and it just clicked.
Night Picnic; 2/5 stars
Why do you insist on role-playing as Earthlings – or whatever riffraff you purport to be? You can be free, without such pageantries of humankind.
Huh?? Are they humans, are they aliens??
That old seaside club; 5/5 stars
‘Don’t worry. The world won’t stop spinning. It’ll keep going, even if you don’t want it to. On and on, until you’re absolutely sick of it.’
Wowww. A fantasy rehab? This is amazing. I wonder if the reason the author can portray addicts so well is because of her husband who died of overdose. Most of these stories follow a similar plotline.
Smoke gets in your eyes; 4/5 stars
“Last week? It seems like only two or three hours ago that we last met. Oh, that’s right. It was last week. But why does it feel so firmly attached to now?”
Is she the old woman? Is the narrator Reiko? It’s the middle of exams and I’m still not quite over processing this.
Forgotten; 5/5
Her dissolute lifestyle lent itself to forgetting the little things
This perfectly captured our world. How most of our problems come from forgetting, This was really an interesting take and I was truly invested. Sol compares Earth to Meelie, claiming that Meelians never forget, and that’s why they’re so unified. He claims that the reason a war hasn’t been waged in Meelie for more than a millenia is because they never got over their fear from the first war, and that that fear was so strong it started being passed on in their genes and that that is the reason they’re so peaceful.
It also really highlights on how greedy we are, how Meelie was invaded for being seen as “backward” just because their main source of income was agriculture and that they were filled with resources. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? \
This was super fun to read, and it really gave me a new perspective on how our world operates.
(too much yapping, sorry)
Terminal boredom; 3/5
’Please, say something. I love you, for starters. You’re my angel – no, my devil, my lovely devil. I mean it.’
Is it weird to say that their super dull dialogue is how I think everyday?
tourmaline_and_tomes's review
dark
slow-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
Translated from the Japanese, "Terminal Boredom" is
a collection of 7 speculative and science fiction
stories.
This collection was a bit of a slog for me to get
through. I did enjoy about half the stories,
particularly the final two. But perhaps speculative
science fiction really isn't my genre?
The author apparently committed suicide shortly
after completing the title story, "Terminal Boredom.
The story is about disaffected youth who find
emotional release in committing acts of unspeakable
violence because they simply stare at screens all
day and have no purpose. I think that Suzuki would
have been absolutely horrified at the state of the
world today, with ubiquitous smartphones and
children raised by iPads.
Perfect for: Fans of Black Mirror, Blade Runner, and scathing societal critique.
a collection of 7 speculative and science fiction
stories.
This collection was a bit of a slog for me to get
through. I did enjoy about half the stories,
particularly the final two. But perhaps speculative
science fiction really isn't my genre?
The author apparently committed suicide shortly
after completing the title story, "Terminal Boredom.
The story is about disaffected youth who find
emotional release in committing acts of unspeakable
violence because they simply stare at screens all
day and have no purpose. I think that Suzuki would
have been absolutely horrified at the state of the
world today, with ubiquitous smartphones and
children raised by iPads.
Perfect for: Fans of Black Mirror, Blade Runner, and scathing societal critique.