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fkshg8465's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Admittedly, it’s a little too neatly written, but I loved every word of this book. The parallel stories, the ending, the reflection of our actual lives today, and the ever present Japanese them of ephemera. I’ll be thinking about this one a long time, which is a little ironic given its subject matter 😂 Would love to see this made into a movie. Since it seems a lot of these dystopian settings are on isolated islands, Hollywood cops probably reuse a set from a previous dystopian movie set on an island 🤣
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
malachinelson's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
Damn. This was a read. It captured me. I was hoping for and terrified by the possibility of it ending. 267 pages later I closed the book. I'll be thinking about this one, and revisiting it, often.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Once again Yoko Ogawa has spun an amazing, hard-to-put-down novel.
This book starts out as very intriguing, turns sombre, then ends down right depressing.
It took a while to read this book as I felt I had to absorb every single word, but once the typewriter story began, I couldn't stop lapping up the words and story.
Could we live in a world where things just disappear from existence and our memories, particularly if someone just didn't want it in their life? Alternatively, this may be how having Alzheimer's or any other permanent memory loss may feel.
This book starts out as very intriguing, turns sombre, then ends down right depressing.
It took a while to read this book as I felt I had to absorb every single word, but once the typewriter story began, I couldn't stop lapping up the words and story.
Could we live in a world where things just disappear from existence and our memories, particularly if someone just didn't want it in their life? Alternatively, this may be how having Alzheimer's or any other permanent memory loss may feel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Self harm, Slavery, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
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