loxeletters's reviews
233 reviews

Intensely readable, though sometimes stressful to read.

I adored Waters' prose; the plot, of course, was amazing, and the characters were wonderfully crafted.

I was hoping for a bit more in the romance department, but I'm not too upset about that, given how spectacular everything else was. Though it might've helped with my other gripe with this book: often times, it was not *fun* to read. I read it quickly and found it captivating, but I was quite stressed and frustrated for a majority of the book, which is why I can't give this 5 stars. Books don't have to be all cozy and enjoyable all the time but in this case there could've been more of a balance.

That being said, I'm looking into buying Waters' other novels as I am writing this...

Schon mehrfach bin ich an den ersten Kapiteln dieses Buchs gescheitert. Leider ziehen sich deren Fehler durch das gesamte Buch: der Erzähler schwafelt dahin, dass jegliche Spannung zerfließt. Denn ab und zu gab es ja spannende Momente! Aber sie würden überschattet von minutenlangen Ausführungen, die jedes Tempo aus der Geschichte nehmen. (Und nicht spannend oder gut geschrieben waren. Ich habe nichts gegen langsame Bücher, aber es muss halt gut gemacht sein.)

Mal abgesehen davon haben mich die Entscheidungen der Charaktere im letzten Abschnitt so wenig überzeugt und auch einfach so genervt, dass ich spätestens dann komplett raus war. 

Ein weiters Problem mit dem Ende: die Entwicklung von Ruth's Beziehung wird so übertrieben dargestellt.

Die beiden Frauen schlafen einmal miteinander und auf einmal sind sie quasi verheiratet? Und das macht die ganzen Tode wett? Was ein Stuss.

Ein weiterer Punkt, den andere RezensentInnen ebenfalls richtiggehend angemerkt haben, ist die Beschreibung von Grace Hendricks als "Mahagonifrau". Bitte was? Der Protagonist ist selber Schwarzer, das scheint mir nicht nur unpassend sondern einfach komplett quatschig.

Tut all dem kommt noch dazu, dass mich die Paralleluniversumsthematik (und auch KI) an sich einfach nicht interesiert. Hätte ich gewusst, dass es in diesem Buch darum geht, hätte ich es nie gekauft. Meine liebste Stelle war der Moment, als

der Protagonist und seine Kollegin ernsthaft überlegt haben, ob er vielleicht einfach Opfer eines Brainwashings wurde statt eines Universumswechsels. Leider war das ja schnell wieder von Tisch.

Die Bio-Waffen-Themayik fand ich grundsätzlich auch gut, aber das kam für meinen Geschmack auch etwas zu kurz.

Zugute halten muss ich den Buch, dass es meine Kritik der Zeitreisen verstanden und auch ausformuliert hat und ich mir dementsprechend nicht auch noch das antun musste. 

Alles in allem: ein paar spannende Momente, die aber von langatmigen Ausschweifungen komplett überschattet wurden. Thematisch konnte das Buch bei mir leider auch nicht punkten.

I loved a lot about this. The only thing It Was Kind Of Missing Was I was just kind of neutral about was the prose style - not at all bad, just didn't ever impress me.

Made me cry at times, which I always appreciate.

Some of this was just extremely teenage-y, which I don't really wanna deduct points for. The protagonist definitely had an insanely strong voice (from a writing pov), which stood out especially in contrast to the excerpt of another book by the author at the end. Very impressive.

I do think the ED really played quite a minor role in this, which of course can be reality for some people. But then the sporadic outbursts didn't ring true to me and sometimes really just seemed to come out of nowhere. At the same time, it was quite refreshing to see an ED book deal with multiple complex, overlapping issues at once.

Positive but somewhat mixed feelings overall.

Above all, this is an immensely readable book - I've finished it in just three days (three work days!). For that alone I would give it 4 stars.

Often, I find journal-style books quite tedious, but here I found it worked very well. The MC's thoughts and his character development were very compelling. The scary elements were very strong in the beginning, but got a bit old at some point. Nevertheless, until the final showdown, I was usually at least a bit tense reading about the various mysterious occurrences.

The relationship between Jack and Gus was very sweet!

At first I was a bit sceptical about the dedication to Gus that Jack shows in the epilogue, even after so much time - but then the circumstances are extraordinary AND it was set up well that Jack is antisocial and a bit an extreme type.

The ending is perhaps the weakest point - the buildup was strong, but the "showdown" was no longer as scary to me and felt rushed and dragging at the same time. What happened on the boat also went down too quickly to have true emotional impact for me.
The final chapter seemed almost superfluous - but I generally just tend to like my books a bit more open-ended.

Jack's sudden hatred for physics and the sea specifically felt a bit misplaced - I would've rather seen him dealing with darkness, which affected him the most during those weeks. And again, the scene of Gus' death was too quick and brief so the fear of the sea doesn't feel as grounded in his experience.

All that said, I did love going back to Algie's letter from the beginning and re-reading it with the new knowledge.

Reading other reviews, I found it interesting to see some found our protagonist annoying. While he's for sure a bit grouchy, I found the other characters in the book far less sympathetic, if mostly due to the classism. Which, by the way, I though the book handled this topic very well.

This novel is told from the perspective of Ono, a retired painter in post-war Japan. Over the course of two years, four occasions (each to do with his daughters and grandson) cause him to reflect on his past as a painter before and during the war years. Told in simple yet captivating prose, his recounts are very non-linear and deal with themes of societal standing and power, the meaning of art, a changing nation, and responsibility/guilt.

While reading this book, I was often reminded of a different but somewhat related German novel, Unscharfe Bilder by Ulla Hahn, which also explores a father' feelings of ir/responsibility for his actions during WWII. Both novels captivated me similarly.

In this case, however, the details as to Ono's actions are much more vague, and the most time is spent covering his career as a painter before the war, only hinting at his

contributions to the war propaganda and as an advisor to some secret police committee

.

In the first half of the book, I found the protagonist to be quite insufferable. His period-typical misogyny and patriarchal attitude, expressed in his refusal to take his adult daughters seriously, was honestly hard to read about - especially since it went pretty much unchallenged. In this sense, the author managed to perfectly portray the attitude of some older people even today. This also reminded me a lot of Hahn's aforementioned novel.

As the book continues, I grew more sympathetic towards Ono, as he showed some remorse about his past actions. The aforementioned misogyny remained, of course. He never totally convinced me, though, because

his reasoning that actions borne of genuine belief in a cause are somehow respectable seems to me like a dangerous notion - surely, many war criminals and modern-day Nazis also act/ed out of passion for a cause? Then again, he is not expressly pleading for forgiveness on this base, as far as I recall.

Towards the end, we then get a very important chapter, which

pulls into question Ono's whole recount as his daughter denies the importance of Ono's past. After he has multiple times himself pulled into doubt some of the details of his recollection, the reader is tempted to view this as a case of an unreliable narrator. Yet soon after, we are shown Ono reminiscing with an old friend/colleague who shares his perspective, giving reason to take Ono's account seriously.

I believe the author is trying to convey a different message, though which I am not entirely sure. Perhaps, this is meant to emphasise the difference in perception and the inability of outsiders to grasp the guilt of others. To some extent, it may also relfect the result of the failure to talk about one's misdeeds. Yet at some points in the book, certain characters are very much hung up on Ono's past - Kuroda being a prominent example, and Shintaro. Maybe it is a commentary on these actions only being brought up when absolutely necessary - as in the case of marriage negotiations - but silenced when they may disturb family peace. 

I feel like Ono's character growth throughout the book is hard to grasp - especially since the  aforementioned period-typical flaws remain. One aspect I particularly enjoyed, which exemplifies his growth, is the following:

In the beginning of the book, Ono expresses his disdain for the new way of things after the war and for the people's attitudes towards war criminals, and the younger generations generally. His love and missing of the old pleasure district exemplifies this rejection of the new Japan. Yet the last scene of the book shows him sitting happily on a bench before an office block where the old pleasure district used to be, watching young office workers, and wishing them well.  I interpret this to mean he has let go of the past - both of pre-war era Japan, and of his guilt and denial regarding his own actions.

Another reviewer mentioned, with regard to this last scene, that Japan seems to simply have replaced the doctrine of imperialism with capitalism. This thought didn't occur to me while reading, but I find it a quite compelling interpretation, given just a few scenes before, we saw Ono's son in law excitedly discussing his workplace, his boss and prospects for global expansion. Following leaders blindly while serving a cause remains the modus operandi.

Overall, this book convinced me with its clean, compelling prose and complex themes and characters. Some parts were frustrating to read, others would not typically appeal to me - the nested narrative structure, for example - yet the combination of subject matter and the writing style kept me engaged throughout. This is my second read by Ishiguro and while Klara and the Sun captured me more on an emotional level, the complex narrative here is something I appreciate just as much. I can't wait to read more of his works.

This book follows the three (subsequent) wives of a poet in 17th century China, through the eyes of Peony, his first wife. 

A central role in the novel is taken on by The Peony Pavilion, an opera telling the story of a young girl who dies and meets a man in a dream, who falls in love with her and resurrects her. Both in the novel and in the real world, this opera inspired young women to starve themselves to death out of "lovesickness", hoping to find true love in the afterworld.

This book deals with the different types of love  - mother love, romantic love, sexual love. It explores jealousy and selfless love in contrast, Chinese afterworld mythology, the meaning of women's writing, and the control women did or didn't have about their lives. 

The first part of the book, Peony falling in love and

dying from lovesickness

had the biggest effect on me. I felt Peony's pain and

her tragic end

made me shed more than a few tears. The following two parts, dealing with

Peony's struggles in the afterworld as a ghost without a dotted ancestor tablet and her efforts trying to make her almost-husband happy from beyond the grave

were still gripping but did not carry the same emotional punch. 

Here is where my issues with the book start: what Peony does to the second wive Tan Ze is horrific, and in my opinion the meaning and effects of her actions are not explored sufficiently. In fact, the ending of the book almost tries to absolve her of all guilt by framing the second wife Tan Ze as a jealous and insecure girl who is responsible for some of the other things Peony blamed herself for. This is unacceptable, in my opinion.

Secondly, some things just felt too contrived. From the start, many thing fall conveniently into place - which is fine sometimes, but it gets a bit much. One moment that really took me out of the story is the revelation that

Peony's mother wrote the famous poem on the wall during the massacre

. It just felt... too much. 

I love See's books for their beautiful historical settings, their eye to detail regarding traditions and culture, and their complex female relationships. In this book, our narrators existence as a

lonely "hungry ghost"

means we get little direct interaction between her and other characters for large chunks of the book. This is probably why the second and third part feel weaker to me than the first.

Nevertheless, I devoured this book. While I see the first part as being the strongest, and while I have big gripes with how the book deals with Peony's control over Tan Ze, I still had lots of fun reading it. I still was gripped. Lisa See remains an author I consistently enjoy and return to for beautiful historical fiction with a focus on women's lives and relationships.

Gerade der erste Teil dieses Buchs hat mich wirklich gepackt. 

Die Vergangenheit der Erzählerin ist mir aber bis zum Schluss ein bisschen ein Rätsel geblieben.

Entertaining but a LOT of telling instead of showing, which really takes you out of the action. Towards the end, the tension generally was pretty low, expect for one subplot. The use of the phrase "bad guys" always strikes me as a bit... immature, but that's a minor complaint.