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A review by rakoerose
Hybrid Child by Mariko Ōhara
4.0
This was a dense and intense read but honestly what else could you expect from a Seiun Award novel? I suspect that the difficulty comes not from the translation; this is just a harder book to grasp and takes a lot of focus.
”You’re not ordinary, are you?” said Shiver.
“Look who’s talking,” answered the girl.
I really enjoyed the concepts this novel displays and develops, with such great themes on motherhood, religion, and empathy. It’s also incredibly feminist (which is cool for something originally published in 1990). The surreal world that Ōhara exposes through the book is one I find myself wanting to know even more about and I think this would be interesting to reread later in life.
Jonah/#3 as a character kept me entranced by the story and following her hundreds-of-years journey. Her unabashed interest in everything around her and the intense desire to understand was relatable and mirrored a lot of my own feelings about the world around me. By the end of it all I felt the same protective feelings like I didn’t want to let her go, similar to her own Mama.
It was cool, and weird, and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I’m so glad it was translated, as otherwise I’d have never gotten an opportunity to experience this wild ride of a book!
”You’re not ordinary, are you?” said Shiver.
“Look who’s talking,” answered the girl.
I really enjoyed the concepts this novel displays and develops, with such great themes on motherhood, religion, and empathy. It’s also incredibly feminist (which is cool for something originally published in 1990). The surreal world that Ōhara exposes through the book is one I find myself wanting to know even more about and I think this would be interesting to reread later in life.
Jonah/#3 as a character kept me entranced by the story and following her hundreds-of-years journey. Her unabashed interest in everything around her and the intense desire to understand was relatable and mirrored a lot of my own feelings about the world around me. By the end of it all I felt the same protective feelings like I didn’t want to let her go, similar to her own Mama.
It was cool, and weird, and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I’m so glad it was translated, as otherwise I’d have never gotten an opportunity to experience this wild ride of a book!