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A review by mobyskine
Watersong by Clarissa Goenawan
3.0
Having both Rainbirds and The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida as my fav making me a bit anticipated with Watersong. The narrative carried the same theme like the previous two; a mellow love story and mystery with a vivid exploration of loss, grief and intimate longing yet having a surreal setting that revolved on a superstition belief-- a warning that Shouji received by a fortune teller; to stay away from three women with water element in their names or else, he or the women perhaps, may drown.
Divided into three parts following the three women Shouji met, the plot threaded with a haunting backstory and a dreamlike aftermath after Shouji had to leave his girlfriend, Youko in Akakawa. From involving into an unexpected incident to living low for years because of the mysterious threats he received, the plot intertwined into Shouji's hidden past with few news clipping inserted in between chapters, a new girl that suddenly arrived and the mystery he needs to uncover about the missing Youko.
Not really a fan to the plot execution as it goes too slow pacing for me (I tend to procrastinate my reading because of the pacing tsk~). Quite ambiguous and monotonous, having immaculate and melancholic nuances yet the subtlety was quite tedious for my liking. I don't feel much on the development as the tension and conflicts were lightly riveting, and as for the mystery-- I have my curiosity but sadly, it did not excite me that much to dig further.
Even though I don't find the other characters that intriguing enough (Liyun especially), I love how the author crafted the fragility of Shouji's personality-- of his 'hollowness' and to delve into his lovesick and untangle the secret he left untouched was both heart-rending and engrossing for me. It gets quite suspenseful nearly the end and that last chapter was truly making me perplexed.
A bit underwhelming compared to the two previous novels but would still recommend it if you want a light uncanny character-based plot (semi literary) with sentimental dreamy prose that captured an evocative and emotional phase of oneself. Do take note that this highlighted a bit on domestic abuse and violence, not that thoroughly but the related scenes might be triggering to few. 2.8 stars to this!
Thank you Pansing Distribution for sending me a copy to review!
Divided into three parts following the three women Shouji met, the plot threaded with a haunting backstory and a dreamlike aftermath after Shouji had to leave his girlfriend, Youko in Akakawa. From involving into an unexpected incident to living low for years because of the mysterious threats he received, the plot intertwined into Shouji's hidden past with few news clipping inserted in between chapters, a new girl that suddenly arrived and the mystery he needs to uncover about the missing Youko.
Not really a fan to the plot execution as it goes too slow pacing for me (I tend to procrastinate my reading because of the pacing tsk~). Quite ambiguous and monotonous, having immaculate and melancholic nuances yet the subtlety was quite tedious for my liking. I don't feel much on the development as the tension and conflicts were lightly riveting, and as for the mystery-- I have my curiosity but sadly, it did not excite me that much to dig further.
Even though I don't find the other characters that intriguing enough (Liyun especially), I love how the author crafted the fragility of Shouji's personality-- of his 'hollowness' and to delve into his lovesick and untangle the secret he left untouched was both heart-rending and engrossing for me. It gets quite suspenseful nearly the end and that last chapter was truly making me perplexed.
A bit underwhelming compared to the two previous novels but would still recommend it if you want a light uncanny character-based plot (semi literary) with sentimental dreamy prose that captured an evocative and emotional phase of oneself. Do take note that this highlighted a bit on domestic abuse and violence, not that thoroughly but the related scenes might be triggering to few. 2.8 stars to this!
Thank you Pansing Distribution for sending me a copy to review!