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kinaver 's review for:
Battle Royale
by Koushun Takami
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
IN SHORT: Scared children are put through a meat grinder.
I’d started reading a physical copy in Russian from my bookshelf and was scared away by a poor translation. The English copy isn’t a genius work either, but it relays information properly and is enjoyable (and as a result, readable). I can’t judge the original writing style properly because of it, yet it feels like the translator’s struggle in part comes from a lacking source. It’s most evident in dialogue – and at the same time, it takes skill to adapt the way Japanese kids speak to each other without it sounding awkward.
It’s a reread for me; however, the second half of the book evaporated from my memory because I’ve read it on a train. Starting with Shinji’s death, I read everything anew, only catching echoes of recognition at times.
The book’s charm isn’t in writing or even in the overall plot but in characters and conflict. I kept planning to read about 25 ebook pages at a time and surfaced after twice as much, shaken by the next death and yet lured by the first sentence of the next chapter.
I am not the best person to judge (Chuck Palahniuk, Poppy Bright, and Hiroya Oku raised me), but I found the gore… tasteful. If we didn’t come to know the character enough to form a connection to them and be affected by their death, then they served to flesh out the main cast. The initial shock of the first deaths moved to a reactionary detachment of the next few ones, then to dismay when students I came to know and like died. The entire scene in the lighthouse played out like a movie, even Kazuo’s death was both satisfying and sad.
The “we are all living under the cruel dictatorship” parts felt forced and lecture-like at times, especially grading in contrast with the way personalities were written. Yes, there is a digression in the middle of a scene telling us about the Republic of Greater East Asia, but the entire game with its characters does a sufficient job of showing, and those lectures felt excessive.
All in all, the book is a solid read, which I see myself picking up again.
I’d started reading a physical copy in Russian from my bookshelf and was scared away by a poor translation. The English copy isn’t a genius work either, but it relays information properly and is enjoyable (and as a result, readable). I can’t judge the original writing style properly because of it, yet it feels like the translator’s struggle in part comes from a lacking source. It’s most evident in dialogue – and at the same time, it takes skill to adapt the way Japanese kids speak to each other without it sounding awkward.
It’s a reread for me; however, the second half of the book evaporated from my memory because I’ve read it on a train. Starting with Shinji’s death, I read everything anew, only catching echoes of recognition at times.
The book’s charm isn’t in writing or even in the overall plot but in characters and conflict. I kept planning to read about 25 ebook pages at a time and surfaced after twice as much, shaken by the next death and yet lured by the first sentence of the next chapter.
I am not the best person to judge (Chuck Palahniuk, Poppy Bright, and Hiroya Oku raised me), but I found the gore… tasteful. If we didn’t come to know the character enough to form a connection to them and be affected by their death, then they served to flesh out the main cast. The initial shock of the first deaths moved to a reactionary detachment of the next few ones, then to dismay when students I came to know and like died. The entire scene in the lighthouse played out like a movie, even Kazuo’s death was both satisfying and sad.
The “we are all living under the cruel dictatorship” parts felt forced and lecture-like at times, especially grading in contrast with the way personalities were written. Yes, there is a digression in the middle of a scene telling us about the Republic of Greater East Asia, but the entire game with its characters does a sufficient job of showing, and those lectures felt excessive.
All in all, the book is a solid read, which I see myself picking up again.