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A review by bantwalkers
The Push Man and Other Stories by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
4.0
Yoshihiro Tatsumi is a little known artist in the states. Well, he may be better known since this came out 4 years ago. But his slice-of-life stories are sad glimpses into the darker territories of life (these are set in late 60's Japan, but still hold up today.)
Most of these short stories are 8 pages long, due to constraints put out by the magazines publishing them. But they convey a lot in those pages. True, some feel rushed or incomplete, but more surprising is most don’t.
Instead, they feel like whole novels, given to us quickly. Few are hopefully, but sometimes, life isn’t. And the one story that can be seen as hopeful is one of the books best. “Make-Up” is about a man who wants to live as a woman, and finds some peace in that. There are other great stories, but I don’t have the book in front of me for the titles. One about a medical student donating his sperm shows the kind of sadness and lostness that most of these stories delve into.
Mostly, these stories were intoxicating. I started reading to pass a few minutes, before I knew it I was on page 100, and even if the stories do get a little repetitive, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I had to put the book down for a few hours to decorate for the holidays, but I kept wanting to go back. And I was rewarded when I did, by a great artist, but an even better writer.
Most of these short stories are 8 pages long, due to constraints put out by the magazines publishing them. But they convey a lot in those pages. True, some feel rushed or incomplete, but more surprising is most don’t.
Instead, they feel like whole novels, given to us quickly. Few are hopefully, but sometimes, life isn’t. And the one story that can be seen as hopeful is one of the books best. “Make-Up” is about a man who wants to live as a woman, and finds some peace in that. There are other great stories, but I don’t have the book in front of me for the titles. One about a medical student donating his sperm shows the kind of sadness and lostness that most of these stories delve into.
Mostly, these stories were intoxicating. I started reading to pass a few minutes, before I knew it I was on page 100, and even if the stories do get a little repetitive, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I had to put the book down for a few hours to decorate for the holidays, but I kept wanting to go back. And I was rewarded when I did, by a great artist, but an even better writer.