Only just discovered this wonderful collection of bold and wacky short stories! There are hints of Atwood and Murakami - but Suzuki is a bold original!
Only just discovered this wonderful collection of bold and wacky short stories! There are hints of Atwood and Murakami - but Suzuki is a bold original!
Tagging my fellow Japanese mystery enthusiasts! @Yuki_Onna @The_Penniless_Author @BarbaraBB @MicheleinPhilly @vivastory
I've been at it again. The Matsumoto and Togawa were second hand, so I grabbed them while I could. (I've also got Slow Fuse by Togawa ordered).
Terminal boredom is not a mystery, but a short story collection that I felt would work well for #pop22 (set in a non-patriarchal society).
The Aosawa Murders is #blameitonlitsy 😋
An immensely talented author, whose ideas and feminist ideals we're ahead of there time. But one also clearly conflicted by an inner turmoil. Each story has a great hook. A premise that's worth exploring. With flat, numb conclusions.
I think how this book was translated played a role in how flat and banal the endings where. I think Suski had a much more powerful voice that'd be better served with just one translator.
Day three #NewYearSpecial #20in4
I had no idea what my first book of the new year would be until today—Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki. Off to a good start with the first story, Women and Women.
Suzuki committed suicide in 1986 at age 37, but these sci-fi stories seem super contemporary, straight from Black Mirror. Sharp takes on gender, memory, society, isolation, boredom, technology, alien life, identity, rivalry all in a punk, assertive voice. Solid translations from Japanese. “Disregarding one another, the monsters loped off, each heading its own way. Leisurely, with no particular place to go, stewards of a new anxiety.” Trans. 2021