A review by pran
Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki

dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but I really enjoyed it. The writing style felt much more blunt than what I usually read, but there were some really beautiful sentences in there, and they often caught me by surprise, which made them all the more punchy. I loved the ideas Suzuki played with in the stories, and the ambivalence she feels towards the developments in technology in her stories. So much of what she wrote was prescient, in an almost scary way. I am excited to read around this book, as I know there has been some interesting criticism and theory around it. The influences of Suzuki's own life on her stories were really interesting to read and I have never seen the sexual/romantic relationships between men and women explored in quite the same way in any other speculative fiction I've read. Interesting to compare and contrast the ideas in Octavia Butler or Margaret Atwood's work with this, and the differences between the American second-wave feminist sci-fi and this Japanese work.
I'm also looking forward to reading her other book Hit Parade of Tears.

If you are interested, there is a very good article about Terminal Boredom on LitHub.
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