A review by nekokat
2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake by William Gibson, Yoko Ono, Jake Adelstein, Barry Eisler

2.0

This was put together quickly and for a good cause. It's a solid concept, but is undermined by the inclusion of so many voices of people who were not directly affected. As an oral history and a record of the way Twitter and Facebook affect community and information: good, okay. But there are too many exceedingly banal accounts that can be summarized as "I don't live in Japan, but I followed the tragedy on Facebook and felt bad." It also includes a lot of non-Japanese writers, which again is an odd choice. Spoiler: No one in this collection seems to have been directly affected to the extent of losing loved ones or even property. Some did evacuate. I would be interested to read more firsthand accounts. William Gibson's reflection is the exception that proves the rule though.