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ainedougherty's review against another edition
1.0
I was very excited by the concept of this book (set in the near future, climate change has destroyed many places in the world, and languages have disappeared, leaving people to navigate the world as people without homelands), but I was majorly disappointed. The language of this book was very academic and stiff, and always made me feel like there was something going on above my head, like the story was told in metaphors that I always missed. I think it was a mistake that this story was told from so many perspectives (7, I think?) because I felt a lack of connection to them. It was interesting that the characters’ backgrounds wove together in ways they didn’t know when they met, but other than those discoveries, I found this book very boring and difficult to read.
shellbean's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
sagittariusmoon's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
marshton's review against another edition
3.0
I really love the concept of this book, I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read it instead of listening on audio.
chris_chester's review against another edition
2.0
The nation of Japan has disappeared from the world entirely, leaving the main character Hiruko adrift in Scandinavia, searching for others who speak her mother tongue and finding some unusual friends along the way.
It's a fascinating premise, but I feel like it's ultimately squandered by a plot that winds up going nowhere. It's possible that something was lost in the translation, but when you consider that the veracity and nature of language is one of the core things the novel seeks to explore, that really doesn't carry much water as an excuse.
The book is also lightly transphobic, but again, not sure if that's just a translation issue or what is going on there.
It's a fascinating premise, but I feel like it's ultimately squandered by a plot that winds up going nowhere. It's possible that something was lost in the translation, but when you consider that the veracity and nature of language is one of the core things the novel seeks to explore, that really doesn't carry much water as an excuse.
The book is also lightly transphobic, but again, not sure if that's just a translation issue or what is going on there.
38_simulated's review against another edition
2.0
The idea of Japan disappearing is an intriguing response to that nation’s demographic crisis, the logical conclusion to the problem of a declining population. But this novel steadfastly refuses to do anything interesting with it. Plot is very much backgrounded in favour of character exploration, but I didn’t find any of those characters especially engaging, and didn’t really care about any of them. File under missed opportunity.
leximable's review against another edition
2.0
I realise it’s part of a trilogy to come but it ended so abruptly I checked another copy to see if mine was missing pages. Thought provoking, but a little jerky and, of course, very unresolved.
darkmatter's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
3.5
really cool concept but the execution felt meh — maybe the pacing was off? — and the characters weren’t super believable