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A review by versmonesprit
Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
To preface, being my first ever NYRB, this held a special place in my heart. My expectations were only heightened by the amazing feedback from book friends and John Bester’s foreword full of so much love. And while the adorable little drawings had my heart through the entirety of the book, I can’t say the same for the stories.
The quality is very hit and miss. Kenji Miyazawa might be a much better writer in his original Japanese, but there’s neither enough character nor substance to land them in translation. Sure, a few are great, some are alright, but the bad ones are plainly cruel when not criminally boring.
Perhaps Bester does set Miyazawa up for failure, because immediately with the first story his allegation that there are no real villains crumbles. Needless cruelty and straight out evil in fact crop up far too many times through these stories, and they’re always profoundly disgusting.
Likewise, while Bester’s right that there’s constant motion in Miyazawa’s tales, he’s wrong that there’s also a feeling of open space. I find Miyazawa fails to do latter to the point where the stories can feel claustrophobic despite being set in open spaces. The constant motion does not help this feeling of confinement, as it gets tiring.
There are a few stories I’d liken to folktales, which I’m usually a huge fan of. Of the ones present in this collection, I liked some, but the rest did absolutely nothing for me.
A lot of the stories here are plagued with the going-nowhere disease, when they aren’t being vilely cruel. As a result, the majority feel well below average in quality. A few of the stories have a Ghibli sort of DNA, but they are far and few in between.
My overall experience with Miyazawa was, unfortunately, piss poor. I really wouldn’t recommend these stories to anyone who isn’t a cat murdering psychopath.
The quality is very hit and miss. Kenji Miyazawa might be a much better writer in his original Japanese, but there’s neither enough character nor substance to land them in translation. Sure, a few are great, some are alright, but the bad ones are plainly cruel when not criminally boring.
Perhaps Bester does set Miyazawa up for failure, because immediately with the first story his allegation that there are no real villains crumbles. Needless cruelty and straight out evil in fact crop up far too many times through these stories, and they’re always profoundly disgusting.
Likewise, while Bester’s right that there’s constant motion in Miyazawa’s tales, he’s wrong that there’s also a feeling of open space. I find Miyazawa fails to do latter to the point where the stories can feel claustrophobic despite being set in open spaces. The constant motion does not help this feeling of confinement, as it gets tiring.
There are a few stories I’d liken to folktales, which I’m usually a huge fan of. Of the ones present in this collection, I liked some, but the rest did absolutely nothing for me.
A lot of the stories here are plagued with the going-nowhere disease, when they aren’t being vilely cruel. As a result, the majority feel well below average in quality. A few of the stories have a Ghibli sort of DNA, but they are far and few in between.
My overall experience with Miyazawa was, unfortunately, piss poor. I really wouldn’t recommend these stories to anyone who isn’t a cat murdering psychopath.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty