I really enjoyed this one. Loved especially Yamada's linework and minimalist facial expressions (the eyes!), the loose gesture, the hair styling of thI really enjoyed this one. Loved especially Yamada's linework and minimalist facial expressions (the eyes!), the loose gesture, the hair styling of the main character, the framing, and gentle loveliness. Most of the stories--all slice of life moments--are snapshots of little joys, frustrations, triumphs, and reflections. The 80s were not so long ago but it's still wild how it SEEMS that "we've come so far" from those days (we haven't). The struggles of the main character and of Yamada Murasaki herself in unfulfilling bad marriages bore a lot of similarities to my own mother and her first marriage to my father, with differences. I wonder about the impact of stories like this on people who haven't seen or experienced a dysfunctional, culturally embedded archetype of a marriage before, who haven't grown up knowing that your dad was awful to your mom and that those sorts of things were ordinary "back then"? I sense that some readers would be bored with this story, particularly its leisurely pace and journey of internal growth. But I got a lot out of it, even if I wasn't crying or wringing my hands. It was a cool story with cool art and a hopeful ending, and it had something to say....more
God I finally remembered this book. Read it as a child and I still think about it from time to time. It captures a sense of fun, mystery, and adventurGod I finally remembered this book. Read it as a child and I still think about it from time to time. It captures a sense of fun, mystery, and adventure that's not always easy to find these days. The cover art is what drew me in back then by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson. The main character, the boy, was a bit dull, but the rest of it was lovely (a character named Joy-in-the-Dance!) and I'll have to revisit it again sometime....more
Remarkably layered, funny, tragic, frustrating, dreamlike, nightmarish, and breathtaking. I started this book with the hope that I'd get a good laugh Remarkably layered, funny, tragic, frustrating, dreamlike, nightmarish, and breathtaking. I started this book with the hope that I'd get a good laugh out of the absurd parts but it led to a reflection on my own life and destiny.
You can get so many readings out of this book and that's what impressed me first - how neatly combined were all the examinations of class, gender roles, cultural expectations, personal change, romance, notions of happiness, and so on. While it's firmly rooted in Russianness and the structures of that era, it's easy to map to contemporary concerns. Nothing has changed of course. The characters are wonderful, deeply observed, complete in their dramatic functions. I won't forget Oblomov, but I also won't forget Zahar, Stolz, Olga, and Agafya Matveyevna.
I want to say so much more about this book but the thing is - it's just excellent. Go read it if you can....more
A whole lot of fun. Clunky at times, yes, and the characters were thin as anything, but the ideas came out fresh. The whole atmosphere felt loose in aA whole lot of fun. Clunky at times, yes, and the characters were thin as anything, but the ideas came out fresh. The whole atmosphere felt loose in an active, slipstream way, like a Jonathan Carroll novel, and events unfolded in layers that built up to a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed the story's confidence in its twists and mystery! The end became surprisingly thrilling, dark, and even spiritual. What the hell, this was great...more
Wow. OK the debt plotline wasn't my favorite but I'll be damned if that wasn't a thrilling escalation of dread. The ending - the aftermath! - was buckWow. OK the debt plotline wasn't my favorite but I'll be damned if that wasn't a thrilling escalation of dread. The ending - the aftermath! - was buck-wild and made me gasp and laugh. This book is a wonder: scathing, sad, funny, vivid, and relentless. Deserves its reputation tenfold. Remarkable....more
I was laughing silently in bed while reading this because of the madness that Kobeni has to endure, the nonstop bludgeoning from the universe, the comI was laughing silently in bed while reading this because of the madness that Kobeni has to endure, the nonstop bludgeoning from the universe, the comedic timing of it all. Amazing!
The rest of this volume is just as great - featuring a brief, chaotic return of one of my favorite characters which made me tear up and a fitting emotional end (beginning) to everything so far.
I read 11 volumes in a day and it was worth it and I'd do it again. Highly recommended!...more
Forgot I read this back when it was made available online a couple years ago. Really good. Earnest, funny, sad, shocking, absurd, and bittersweet all Forgot I read this back when it was made available online a couple years ago. Really good. Earnest, funny, sad, shocking, absurd, and bittersweet all the way through....more
Inhaled this book! Probably a bit too long and did not care for the petty girl vs girl drama over boys, but luckily it's minor. The combo of pervasiveInhaled this book! Probably a bit too long and did not care for the petty girl vs girl drama over boys, but luckily it's minor. The combo of pervasive dread + obscurity + mystery of what happens next was fantastic.
Loved and appreciated the themes of institutional horror, especially the horror of being a child struggling to resist and also obliterate oneself to "grow up", the impossibility of understanding a culture impressed on you, the tyranny of language, the total oppression of living in a world that considers you less than and the patronizing grief of being told that you must do more to elevate yourself out of ignorance, and the constant irrational but valid fear of losing everything.
I woke up in the middle of the night remembering this textbook from my first-year Chinese for heritage learners course in college which I've been tryiI woke up in the middle of the night remembering this textbook from my first-year Chinese for heritage learners course in college which I've been trying to track down for over a decade haha. It's hands-down the best language learning book I've read anywhere, specifically because it knows its audience's needs so well (typically students who grew up listening to or speaking Mandarin but without formal education). If I ever pick up my studies again I'll go back to this series....more
Wow this one took me for a ride. I thought it was going to be a campy, dramatic romp and it certainly was, which was so much fun. I loved how high theWow this one took me for a ride. I thought it was going to be a campy, dramatic romp and it certainly was, which was so much fun. I loved how high the stakes were and the last 15% read like a thriller. Also du Maurier's descriptive powers are real - her writing evokes place with so much dimension and texture. But what's best here is the vision. I'm amazed by the through line of her character transformations, the heart of them. I'm frankly moved by this book which felt like a fever dream, an Isekai adventure, but which actually had something to say. It felt mature and considered. It made me laugh, it was sad at times, and it was exciting. I wish I could read another book like it....more
This book is a wonder. It's not perfect, but the scope of it, the ideas, and what it aims for are truly wild and refreshing.
God the jokes - the twistsThis book is a wonder. It's not perfect, but the scope of it, the ideas, and what it aims for are truly wild and refreshing.
God the jokes - the twists! The sheer absurdity! Half the time I thought, "Where is this going?" And it goes, but decidedly not how you'd expect. It was fun. The characters are such broad strokes and caricatures practically but there is a surprising heart running through it all, that by the last chapter I was sad to leave it behind....more
It took me well over a year to finish this thing. Thought I'd have so much to say, but now that it's done, I'm not sure how to wrap it up.
It's probabIt took me well over a year to finish this thing. Thought I'd have so much to say, but now that it's done, I'm not sure how to wrap it up.
It's probably the finest book I've read to date and I can't see what tops it, not for style, structure, ideas, depth, characterization, social criticism, and even humor. The last chapter before the finale had so many jokes in it I thought it was going to be a dream sequence.
But I never expected so much understanding and tenderness. That somehow is a metric I care for most now, and it's because this book left a mark on me. That's all....more
Finally remembered this book that I read as a child in the 90s, being one of my first fantasy books, and it was so unique (the gargoyles! the snow of Finally remembered this book that I read as a child in the 90s, being one of my first fantasy books, and it was so unique (the gargoyles! the snow of different colors!) and compelling. I want to revisit it at some point....more
Fast, funny, chaotic, effortless, and expertly constructed. It suffers if anything from not giving enough time or dimensions to the characters, but thFast, funny, chaotic, effortless, and expertly constructed. It suffers if anything from not giving enough time or dimensions to the characters, but that is excusable because really knowing the characters isn't the point. The characters are memories, they are suggestions of people you used to know or imagined you knew. Moreover they are lenses and timepieces. Walking away from it all, I will remember the imagery, the jokes, the absurdity, and the reverent-screwball energy of girlhood captured in this slim little number....more
Wonderful. It loses its way at times, especially in the last quarter when the pacing goes out the window and labors under the weight of its own scale,Wonderful. It loses its way at times, especially in the last quarter when the pacing goes out the window and labors under the weight of its own scale, but it is ambitious and hits the mark almost always. Wright is excellent. Her love of language, particularly voice, makes it fun to hear each character and the choruses of townspeople with such vividness. It's a winding narrative with little reprieve, however. Lamentable also the lack of women who are fully independent from the men they interact with. Yet it's understandable what Wright chose to portray - the scope is impressive and any more I might've had trouble digesting. Maybe. I struggled with the beginning (it took me two years to get past the first 25%), but after a while I found it better to be swept along and not worry too much about making sense of what I was reading at the moment. Carpentaria is a big rewarding book that has something to say. A lot of it, framed in small town humor, is quite tragic, mysterious, and moving. I'd recommend it to anybody who has the time, and even if you don't, it's worth chipping away at just for a glimpse of a world that's so rich in story....more
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