ruby_0_t's Reviews (23)

Lullaby

Leïla Slimani

2.5

dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Three Days of Happiness

Sugaru Miaki

4.25

emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Good book. I found it used troupes typically found in Japanese media pretty well to illustrate it's themes and subject matter: the beauty of living and what it means to live.

My main critiques are mostly the direction the story takes, and it's translation.

The direction is kind of all over the place, the only consistent theme it sticks to is the beauty of the small things in life, but it's other themes: existentialism, the cycle of life and friendship, art, fame vs money, are lightly touched on but felt more like after thoughts. I would've liked a deeper exploration of them.

For the translation, I thought it felt quite hollow and poorly written, almost robotic, and like it's missing something. I wanna give the original a read sometime to see if this is a language problem, or if I just don't gel with the translator's style.

Some minor nitpicks: I thought the chapter

where he tried to assault Miyuki was weird as fuck and very out of place,

also the dialogue and general structure of which it shows backstory is so fucking bad. Please Miaki (author) please learn how to show don't tell.

But overall, I thought it was a fun, accessible read about existentialism and love. It's concept is definitely what kept me going for me, and like most tragedies, I ended up falling for it, despite all it's flaws.