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A review by pearloz
Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro
4.0
Despite my initial sneering at a plot device (the sudden appearance of a manic pixie dream girl that no one knows and only has eyes for our protagonist), this turned out to be a short blast of a book. Fun high school melodramas (exams, schoolyard fights, friendships, other friendships w/ gay undertones, romance, familial strain) mixed with more "serious" literary topics (history of war, displacement, identity, dual identity, triple identity).
The heart of the book, for me, was the romance--no matter it's contrived beginnings, I really enjoyed reading about these kids fall in love with each other, explore each other's Western obsessions (Jazz, American film, literature), they are a charming couple of high school pseudo-intellectuals (but not really bc our protagonist, along with getting into all the stuff a Freshman Lit/Philosophy major would be into, reads prodigiously about historical and scientific topics) who are made for each other.
Their "'You-lied-to-me'-in-the-rain" moment comes at the most inopportune time, as they are about to consummate their relationship--and he confesses his true origins. The moment is handled with exactly the kind of drama you'd expect from a high school romance. The resolution was charming and true.
One of the other--themes?--running through the book was violence and fighting, which also seems very high school. Our protagonist fights and bests all comers at school, is a bouncer at a party, has a long history of boxing and fighting with his father. This also has a resolution that felt true.
I had a great time reading this book.
The heart of the book, for me, was the romance--no matter it's contrived beginnings, I really enjoyed reading about these kids fall in love with each other, explore each other's Western obsessions (Jazz, American film, literature), they are a charming couple of high school pseudo-intellectuals (but not really bc our protagonist, along with getting into all the stuff a Freshman Lit/Philosophy major would be into, reads prodigiously about historical and scientific topics) who are made for each other.
Their "'You-lied-to-me'-in-the-rain" moment comes at the most inopportune time, as they are about to consummate their relationship--and he confesses his true origins. The moment is handled with exactly the kind of drama you'd expect from a high school romance. The resolution was charming and true.
One of the other--themes?--running through the book was violence and fighting, which also seems very high school. Our protagonist fights and bests all comers at school, is a bouncer at a party, has a long history of boxing and fighting with his father. This also has a resolution that felt true.
I had a great time reading this book.