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emergencily's reviews
116 reviews
Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 1 by Ryoko Kui
5.0
- how does this start as a silly, comedic medieval fantasy slice of life about cooking and it progresses into fantasy horror & a deconstruction of the human psyche, the root of earthly desires, the meaning of consumption, etc
- the act of consumption / cannibalization as both loving and transformative vs dominating and effacing
- cooking and sharing meals together as a declaration of intimacy and connection
- to be human is to desire and reach for things beyond us; at the root of human desire is a will to live
- our place in the natural world and our role in a web of connections to all living beings: human, monster, animal, plant
- incredible art as well; great and varied character design with tons of diversity and really thoughtful character design choices
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
5.0
- An insane trip of a book. Starts out following the MC as a young girl with a troubled family life, who fantasizes about having magic powers as a means of escapism; devolves into gory self mutilating cannibalistic chaos in the last 30 pages
- The prose is simple and matter of fact in a childlike manner while describing abject horrors — which makes it all the more unsettling to read
- Chilling and heartbreaking to read about the intense violence and victimization the MC faces throughout her life as a child and as a woman, and her life long struggle to process her trauma and ensuing sense of alienation - not only from her family and from society, but from her own body and mind. She grapples with depersonalization & disassociation as her sense of autonomy and identity is under siege by outside forces — social mores, cultural expectations of conformity, patriarchal reproductive control, and coercive violence from her family
- I think the book speaks to the messy, nasty and violent parts of victimhood & trauma… the feeling of what it means to be violated and colonized by the world in body and mind, and the desperation to reclaim any sense of self possession, even when it’s violent and taboo
- A ton of symbolism about reproduction, rebirth and motherhood as the trio is reborn naked & pregnant in a new world of their own making
- The protagonist’s mantra — “Survive, whatever it takes” — as it carried her through all she endures is one that’s going to stay with me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
3.5
- About social conformity and the inescapable pressure to participate in patriarchy and capitalism
- With the convenience store as a microcosm of society, it delves into body politics & bio-power — “A convenience store is a forcibly normalized environment where foreign matter is immediately eliminated”
- Also connects ableism to capitalism, e.g. the MC being coded very strongly as autistic, the expiry date for her body as a “useful tool” for work as she ages
- Had a lot of interesting set up but the message felt surface level
- This made me miss cheap & delicious Japanese 7-11 food so much
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
4.0
- collection of dark short stories reflecting on the violence & exploitation of patriarchy and capitalism
- the strongest stories are in the first half of the book, especially ” the head” and “the embodiment,” feminist body horror tales where the female protagonists endure increasingly surreal horrors thru the erosion of their bodily autonomy and thru changes to their positions in their families & society as they age and experience motherhood
- “cursed bunny,” the titular story, was a great intergenerational revenge story, with an old family yarn / folk tale feel
- the weakest stories are in the latter half of the book as it experiments with sci-fi and fantasy, but ends up with predictable genre cliches, and lacks the coherent voice and direction that characterized the first half of the book
- the strongest stories are in the first half of the book, especially ” the head” and “the embodiment,” feminist body horror tales where the female protagonists endure increasingly surreal horrors thru the erosion of their bodily autonomy and thru changes to their positions in their families & society as they age and experience motherhood
- “cursed bunny,” the titular story, was a great intergenerational revenge story, with an old family yarn / folk tale feel
- the weakest stories are in the latter half of the book as it experiments with sci-fi and fantasy, but ends up with predictable genre cliches, and lacks the coherent voice and direction that characterized the first half of the book
Rag: Stories by Maryse Meijer
5.0
- Nasty, dark & disquieting collection of short stories; each one feels like a peek into someone's nightmare
- Reflections on violence & the infliction of harm on ourselves and others
- Poses questions on gendered & sexual violence and power dynamics but leaves it to you to find your own answers
- Surrealist & absurd subject matter with a fast-paced, choppy and experimental writing style, but underpinned by its subject matter: tales of human ugliness that all feel terrifyingly plausible enough to be real
- Reflections on violence & the infliction of harm on ourselves and others
- Poses questions on gendered & sexual violence and power dynamics but leaves it to you to find your own answers
- Surrealist & absurd subject matter with a fast-paced, choppy and experimental writing style, but underpinned by its subject matter: tales of human ugliness that all feel terrifyingly plausible enough to be real
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Abortion
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
5.0
1500 page slow burn Chinese martial arts fantasy gay romance novel? It's like they set up a mouse trap and this bait was personalized just for me.
A lot of fantasy romance novels fall into the trap of either focusing too much on crafting their worlds, leaving the development of the characters and romance to the wayside, or the reverse situation where the focus on the romance leads to a shoddy story. Thankfully, MXTX manages to balance all of these well.
The plot and world building is genuinely interesting and well-crafted, both resting comfortably on the laurels of generations of well-established xianxia tropes and culture, and breathing new life into them. The author's somewhat excessive use of time skips back and forth over the course of the story can sometimes stall the pacing, and confuse you when reading.
I do think the translation has something to do with that occasional confusion - it’s been translated in a way that’s clearly very faithful to the original text, with plenty of foot notes and a glossary for context. I normally love that, and while I do appreciate it, I actually think they really could and should have localized this a bit more. Sometimes the prose and flow is just way too awkward sounding in English because they focused on preserving the exact original’s literal meaning a little too much vs focusing on communicating a clear meaning, and natural, better flowing style and prose.
For readers unfamiliar with the tropes & terms of xianxia, combined with a large cast (each of whom has about 5 different names and titles) it means it takes some perseverance to get through the first volume and make sense of it all. But once the story hits its stride, it's a tense page turner: a murder mystery, high fantasy, martial arts action, high stakes thriller, family tragedy, and slow burn romance rolled into one.
The MC, Wei Wuxian, is the star that holds it all together. You can't help but fall in love with him - mischievous and trouble making, lackadaisically arrogant, and enduringly kind and loyal. Seeing his character grow over the course of the novel is a treat. He’s a well written character with a lot of depth. You see him start as a bright and promising young man who spirals and implodes on himself, trying to reconcile his ideals within a corrupt society and to protect his loved ones. His self destruction is partly due to an actual conspiracy against him, but a lot due to a mess of his own making: his hubris, rash temper and emotional immaturity. He's also strongly situated as a main character within a larger cast of characters who are all incredibly interesting, loveable and frustrating, in their own rights. They all have deep motivations and exist not just to fill out the world but to serve as interesting foils, foreshadowing and parallels of alternate outcomes. All the recurring characters are connected by a web of complex and unique relationships that the story takes its time nurturing (EEJU - Everyone Is Jin Ling’s Uncle). And of course the relationship btwn Wei Wuxian and his love interest Lan Zhan as their bond withstands death, betrayal, war, and time, is the one you root for the most.
Oh and a note - the extra chapters are mostly fun and nice additions to fill out some missing B side scenes and characters, but for gods sake skip that incense burner chapter where they bone. Gotta be some of the least sexiest sex I have ever read in fiction, second only to Murakami sex scenes. Christ almighty.
A lot of fantasy romance novels fall into the trap of either focusing too much on crafting their worlds, leaving the development of the characters and romance to the wayside, or the reverse situation where the focus on the romance leads to a shoddy story. Thankfully, MXTX manages to balance all of these well.
The plot and world building is genuinely interesting and well-crafted, both resting comfortably on the laurels of generations of well-established xianxia tropes and culture, and breathing new life into them. The author's somewhat excessive use of time skips back and forth over the course of the story can sometimes stall the pacing, and confuse you when reading.
I do think the translation has something to do with that occasional confusion - it’s been translated in a way that’s clearly very faithful to the original text, with plenty of foot notes and a glossary for context. I normally love that, and while I do appreciate it, I actually think they really could and should have localized this a bit more. Sometimes the prose and flow is just way too awkward sounding in English because they focused on preserving the exact original’s literal meaning a little too much vs focusing on communicating a clear meaning, and natural, better flowing style and prose.
For readers unfamiliar with the tropes & terms of xianxia, combined with a large cast (each of whom has about 5 different names and titles) it means it takes some perseverance to get through the first volume and make sense of it all. But once the story hits its stride, it's a tense page turner: a murder mystery, high fantasy, martial arts action, high stakes thriller, family tragedy, and slow burn romance rolled into one.
The MC, Wei Wuxian, is the star that holds it all together. You can't help but fall in love with him - mischievous and trouble making, lackadaisically arrogant, and enduringly kind and loyal. Seeing his character grow over the course of the novel is a treat. He’s a well written character with a lot of depth. You see him start as a bright and promising young man who spirals and implodes on himself, trying to reconcile his ideals within a corrupt society and to protect his loved ones. His self destruction is partly due to an actual conspiracy against him, but a lot due to a mess of his own making: his hubris, rash temper and emotional immaturity. He's also strongly situated as a main character within a larger cast of characters who are all incredibly interesting, loveable and frustrating, in their own rights. They all have deep motivations and exist not just to fill out the world but to serve as interesting foils, foreshadowing and parallels of alternate outcomes. All the recurring characters are connected by a web of complex and unique relationships that the story takes its time nurturing (EEJU - Everyone Is Jin Ling’s Uncle). And of course the relationship btwn Wei Wuxian and his love interest Lan Zhan as their bond withstands death, betrayal, war, and time, is the one you root for the most.
Oh and a note - the extra chapters are mostly fun and nice additions to fill out some missing B side scenes and characters, but for gods sake skip that incense burner chapter where they bone. Gotta be some of the least sexiest sex I have ever read in fiction, second only to Murakami sex scenes. Christ almighty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Homophobia and Incest
Minor: Rape