Welcome to Litsy!

Attempting this one next. I might be in a bit of a reading slump, but I‘m hoping that‘s not the case.

Not my favorite Kawakami, but still interesting. The second story/novella was so odd and charming.

“Record of a Night Too Brief” is an extremely quirky collection of stories by Japanese author Hiromi Kawakami. For the most part I enjoyed the writing of these stories, but really they were just a little too strange for me to enjoy fully – 2 stars.

My full review is up on my blog now 📚

This book of one novella and two short stories is one of the most unique things I've ever read. Kawakami's writing is bizarre, surreal, incredibly imaginative, and full of startling imagery and prose. A lot if this, especially the first story, seems to be working if not solely then mostly on the level of metaphor. My problem was I didn't know what the metaphor was--the tenor is there, but what's the vehicle? That leaves meaning just out of reach.

Another fabulous opening paragraph, like the last book I read: "What was that itch on my back? I wondered. And then I realized it was the night--the night was nibbling into me."

#7days7covers #covercrush

Record of a Night Too Brief is a collection of three bizarre, Alice in Wonderland like novellas. They‘re definitely strange and seem to have no actual plot because of their dream like quality, but do have a theme of loneliness, grief, and how the people we have become close to are ultimately mysterious to us. It‘s a good read for fans of Samanta Schweblin. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by Kawakami.

I‘ve been in a training class, so that means I get to go to the nice work location, which is closer to my house and I get to spend lunch reading in a park. If I had it my way I‘d be perpetually training.

Super disappointed with this book. I had started reading it last year and then didn't want to continue because the story was so weird, it didn't make any sense. And I actually love weird stories and I'm not new to Japanese literature(if you are a fan of Jap lit you'll definitely know that most of the books have a weird( but good and interesting storyline).
The prose is well written. But I can't say the same about the plot. Not recommending.

Another #womenintranslation pick that I found on #scribd. A Japanese author and 3 stories inside.

The writing was beautiful and enchanting, which suited the theme of the book. The three stories all had elements of fairytale and magical realism, which I enjoyed to a certain extent. But it did take time for me to let go of the need to figure out the plot - the book was more enjoyable after that.

Three stories, beautifully written and bizarre. I thought the translation was well done. The stories were very dream-like and reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. While I enjoyed the oddness I would have liked a little bit more clear resolution to the stories.