prcizmadia's review against another edition
4.0
This one definitely threw me for a claustrophobic loop; maybe because I read it in two fever-forced sittings, or because it relates to themes I've been mulling over for a bit. But there's a lot going on here, and more so yet depending on your lens.
In the author's preface, he mentions as his driving force the questions of what if something on the scale of 9/11 or the Columbine massacre happened in Japan, through Japanese eyes and with Japanese means. With this in mind, the parallels are all too apt with contemporary American society-- tremendous alienation leading to societal decay and interpersonal violence, rallying around a conservative, unifying view of society, governance 'newspeak' becoming ever more complex and contradictory to suit a changing reality, and gradually surrendering power over to an increasingly autocratic government, all behind the backdrop of an island nation increasingly punished by a changing climate. Living as I do in my American context, there's some powerful and painful conclusions to draw. There's no answers to be found here, but there's some real important questions.
It's higher than four, but not quite five.
In the author's preface, he mentions as his driving force the questions of what if something on the scale of 9/11 or the Columbine massacre happened in Japan, through Japanese eyes and with Japanese means. With this in mind, the parallels are all too apt with contemporary American society-- tremendous alienation leading to societal decay and interpersonal violence, rallying around a conservative, unifying view of society, governance 'newspeak' becoming ever more complex and contradictory to suit a changing reality, and gradually surrendering power over to an increasingly autocratic government, all behind the backdrop of an island nation increasingly punished by a changing climate. Living as I do in my American context, there's some powerful and painful conclusions to draw. There's no answers to be found here, but there's some real important questions.
It's higher than four, but not quite five.
rivqa's review against another edition
4.0
Don't read this book if you're not feeling emotionally hardy. With themes of suicide, mass hysteria and dystopia on personal and national scales, it's bleak to say the least. That said, this is an excellent, challenging book that never leans on shock value to move forward.
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