a_bloom's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
glenmowrer's review
4.0
An eyeopener for me. This work has the feel of several of my favorite written Japanese authors, including Haruki Murakami, and I have wondered how this style developed. Reading the essay, after finishing the Tsuge works, I get the connection between this school of communication and the more formal written narrative. There is a sense of "everyman" ethos wrapped in the dark thoughts of one's own expected incompetence and seasoned by a dose of neurosis. In this it also reminds me of early Philip K. Dick novels, especially his non-science fiction works about young men with schemes. (See In Milton Lumpky Territory, Humpty Dumpty in Oakland, The Broken Bubble.) This may all be spoken to by the comment of the autobiographical main character who says to his wife "There is no nihilism in Japan" or words to that effect.
beniamino's review
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this book just made me sad. hammers in the "what even are we doing with our lives" thing. like there's nothing even worth living for. like that's all that we're ever meant for–nothing.
andrueb's review
5.0
Just fantastic. Placid, emotionally complex, and funny. I'm genuinely excited that there must be a huge world of deeply literary Japanese manga that I've never even heard of. Tsuge's is such a peculiar personality, that I think anyone can nonetheless relate to.
annataeko's review
2.0
If you like stones, the beginning/ending of this story will be worth your read.
Mentions in the story that are worth exploring more: the Ina Valley, 芭蕉 (Bashou), and 井上井月 (Seigetsu Inoue).
Mentions in the story that are worth exploring more: the Ina Valley, 芭蕉 (Bashou), and 井上井月 (Seigetsu Inoue).
eeriemusick's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
beelzebubbie's review
3.0
I’m giving this 3 stars because the art was beautiful - the shapes of the stones, the silhouettes of birds. But god, how is THIS true that the autobiographical woe-is-me middle-aged man pity fest is such a category in comics? The obsession with self worth in the age of capitalism, the hyper-critical and self-conscious elitist false humility of ego-death. But mostly what got me was the dehumanizing misogyny. We have barely 3 women, and one is a devious slut, while the other two are materialistic, money-obsessed nags who make their husbands miserable and have no personalities whatsoever. Women are sexual objects or, as wives, exist only as the banes of their husbands existence. Urk, it’s so basic and gross, though as this is from the 80s maybe this book is a pioneer of the basic and gross in the pity-me man manga genre. Okay, diatribe over & out.
falsegoth's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
crispymerola's review
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
An ode to da lazy bois - the ending took me by surprise and elevated this quaint slice of life into something a bit more melancholic and affecting. I also really loved the specificity of information about cameras and rocks. The POV is limited/misogynistic to the detriment of the story, though.