Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada

2 reviews

woolgatherer's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

1.75

Well, this was a disappointing read. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is supposedly meant to come to mind while reading this, but I didn’t get any of its whimsicality. I think Scattered All Over the Earth wanted to be whimsical with a dystopian backdrop, but it didn’t pan out the way Tawada may have wanted it to. Instead, it ended up being a bit of a mess with attempts (some successful, in defense of the author) to present philosophical musings about identity, belonging, and language. Maybe we’re not seeing the full picture because this is apparently projected to be a trilogy…? Whatever the case, the delivery of the story didn’t work for me.

What really bothered me was the repeated misgendering of the trans character throughout this book, which was nothing short of appalling. Despite explicitly stating that Akash saw herself as a woman, this was completely ignored by everyone else. I think what bothered me even more was that this character didn’t seem to have any reaction to the fact that everyone was misgendering her or making transphobic comments. It also doesn’t help that the purpose of Akash’s involvement in the story is not apparent (at least, to me), making me wonder why a cis Japanese woman decided to create a character who is a trans Indian woman. If Tawada plans on keeping Akash in her cast moving forward, she really needs to take a step back and educate herself.
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annataeko's review

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

The only character I cared for is Akash. She deserved some character development and more chapters.
Cover and title, a 10. The plot and characters, a 2 (at most). Really poorly executed. Being a translated work did not help either. Disappointing read overall.
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