sisa_moyo's review against another edition
5.0
“Newlywed” about a man who misses his stop on the train and has a thought provoking meeting with a maybe magical being.
"Lizard" centers a man who falls utterly in love with Lizard who has powers and they navigate their traumatic childhoods
"Helix" about a man who’s girlfriend plans to go on a retreat to have unnecessarily memories erased from her mind.
"Dreaming of Kimchee" a woman moves away from her sister as she marries the man she was in an affair with and they dream about Kimchi.
"Blood and Water" a girl raised in a secluded Buddhist village runs away to Tokyo where she meets her lover who makes amulets.
"A Strange Tale from Down by the River" a former a former sex addict and her fiancés apartment by the ominous river, as she is visited by her past.
Absolutely love every single story in this collection, Yoshimoto’s writing is so simple, understandable and so hypnotisingly lyrical. The themes of fate, time, healing, memory and a love that complements the self throughout the stories are so beautifully threaded.
Absolutely love every single story in this collection, Yoshimoto’s writing is so simple, understandable and so hypnotisingly lyrical. The themes of fate, time, healing, memory and a love that complements the self throughout the stories are so beautifully threaded.
My first of Yoshimoto’s work and excited to read more.
giovianna's review against another edition
5.0
loved this book SO MUCH, so many good stories. banana yoshimoto is incredibly special
lizaliza5's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
blairwitchapologist's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
levi_masuli's review against another edition
2.0
Yoshimoto is often compared with Murakami for certain reasons I couldn't grasp (except for the fact that they are of course both Japanese0. Murakami has a crazier take on surreal/ magic realism, while Yoshimoto is more focused on the subtleties of simple (but nonetheless insightful)human interactions and observations. Yoshimoto's modesty in Lizard leaves me quite unsatisfied. Maybe it was a cultural thing; Japanese culture has many subtle elements that cannot be translated to English.
sanmeow's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
i liked these a lot, but i truly expected to like them. i always know what to expect from banana yoshimoto because her style is super consistent, and that applies here too. the stories are very banana, yknow. i was also happy about these being short stories because i think banana's style shines in shorter pieces. anyway, i liked all of these, though helix didn't really appeal to me because i didn't connect with the story. the title story was fun and i liked the more peculiar elements of it. my personal favorites would be a strange tale from down by the river, blood and water, and dreaming of kimchee ^_^
runia's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Una raccolta di racconti, si legge senza sforzo, ma questo è tutto ciò che è. Ho l'impressione che li dimenticherò facilmente.