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A review by nina_chan01
The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi
2.0
I should know by now to accept that Japanese speculative fiction of this type is not for me. I watch the movies based on the novels and get really excited but - please don't kill me - reading the books is torture.
This particular book focuses on an unnamed college junior who believes he's wasting the years he's supposed to be living in rosy happiness all because he made a wrong choice in which social club to join during freshman year. He meets a fellow slacker whom he blames for all his woes despite him being his only friend. We then follow this student through the different timelines where he chose the different paths available to him as a freshman to see how his life would have changed... only things don't really change that much and it's entirely possible that all paths lead to the same place simply because our protagonist is the way he is.
The writing is actually pretty solid, which is good because entire passages get the copy/paste treatment and are repeated over and over again. Experiencing the character's deja vu without the character being aware that it's deja vu because they're reliving an alternate timeline created by a choice makes for a bizarre and (honestly) boring reading experience.
And then there's the fact that the unnamed main character is supposed to not be entirely likable and you've got a book that challenges the reader way more than I'm willing to dedicate to novels I read for pleasure.
I've learned my lesson. No more Japanese speculative fiction for me.
Thankful to NetGalley and HarperVia for the reading experience.
This particular book focuses on an unnamed college junior who believes he's wasting the years he's supposed to be living in rosy happiness all because he made a wrong choice in which social club to join during freshman year. He meets a fellow slacker whom he blames for all his woes despite him being his only friend. We then follow this student through the different timelines where he chose the different paths available to him as a freshman to see how his life would have changed... only things don't really change that much and it's entirely possible that all paths lead to the same place simply because our protagonist is the way he is.
The writing is actually pretty solid, which is good because entire passages get the copy/paste treatment and are repeated over and over again. Experiencing the character's deja vu without the character being aware that it's deja vu because they're reliving an alternate timeline created by a choice makes for a bizarre and (honestly) boring reading experience.
And then there's the fact that the unnamed main character is supposed to not be entirely likable and you've got a book that challenges the reader way more than I'm willing to dedicate to novels I read for pleasure.
I've learned my lesson. No more Japanese speculative fiction for me.
Thankful to NetGalley and HarperVia for the reading experience.