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A review by samhsiung
The Lonesome Bodybuilder: Stories by Yukiko Motoya
3.0
My friend randomly plucked this book off a shelf and decided to buy it for me for Christmas, and it was the weirdest thing I’ve ever read—but I finished it in one plane ride, and it got me out of a semester long reading slump. Someone could only write this if they were high on shrooms. The only thing learned from this book was that I should start dating bike saddles if dating anyone else doesn’t work out. I cannot tell whether I hated this book or loved it (hence the three stars—a happy average), but the author definitely has a talent for writing (about weird things). Some of the short stories were definitely better than the others—I liked “How to Burden the Girl” and “Q&A” the most. This book was like the scene from Everything Everywhere All At Once where Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis are slapping each other with hot dog fingers—you become so weirded out by what’s happening yet so intrigued to read more.
“If you genuinely desire not to be alone, I recommend that you take a bicycle saddle as your next partner. You think that’s out of the question? But a saddle is shaped surprisingly like a human face, and once you pull it off the bicycle, you can take each other out anywhere. When you go on vacation, the money you save on the second fare means you can make many more happy memories than if you were with another human. Best of all, a saddle can’t speak. You lament that you can’t find the right person because you have too many expectations of men who speak, and end up seeing too many of their failings. But if your partner is a bicycle saddle, there’s just one thing you need from them: to gently and lovingly support your ass.”
“If you genuinely desire not to be alone, I recommend that you take a bicycle saddle as your next partner. You think that’s out of the question? But a saddle is shaped surprisingly like a human face, and once you pull it off the bicycle, you can take each other out anywhere. When you go on vacation, the money you save on the second fare means you can make many more happy memories than if you were with another human. Best of all, a saddle can’t speak. You lament that you can’t find the right person because you have too many expectations of men who speak, and end up seeing too many of their failings. But if your partner is a bicycle saddle, there’s just one thing you need from them: to gently and lovingly support your ass.”