A review by juksu
Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada

mysterious reflective 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? Yes

2.75

The concept was so good but the writing style... really turned me off. And that's aside from the transphobia. I skimmed this at a Japanese bookstore and decided to read the full thing in English. I'll say the translation is faithful — it felt like reading the Japanese. Sort of floaty and translucent, which lends itself well to the characters' transience throughout the whole story. It feels like they are a little glob of people apart from the world they claim to inhabit, which I suppose is the point. But for such an exciting premise, I felt the writing style got in the way of me really sinking my teeth into this. But I don't think it's entirely the writer's mastery of writing so much as the challenges of conveying voice in translation. 
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