I just couldn't resist a book with a cheeky title, now could I???
MatchlessMarie Nice 👍 3h
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I just couldn't resist a book with a cheeky title, now could I???
pickMonths ago I filled out a questionnaire in the New York Times that would pick out a perfect book for me and this is the one I got. It‘s a short story collection, interconnected in odd ways, telling a futuristic story about mankind, AI, cloning and survival. I really liked the way the stories tied together at the end, hopeful and thought-provoking.
rendezvous secrète,
tombons amoureux, juste toi
et moi -- tous les deux.
secret date,
let's fall in love, just you
and me -- the two of us.
#haikuhive #haikuaday #poetry #love #frenchhaiku
“Because desks and vases don‘t use words?” I asked. “Is that what you mean?” “I don‘t know, maybe. More like, desks and vases probably don‘t get hurt,” Kojima said. “Even when they‘re broken,” she added softly. “Yeah,” I nodded. “People are different, though,” she said softer still. “Sometimes you can‘t see the scars. But there‘s a lot of pain, I think.” After that, she was quiet.”
“That thing you said earlier,” Kojima finally said. “I think I know what you mean. When a desk or a vase gets scratched, it doesn‘t show you how it‘s hurting.”
so-soA generous So-So from me as this really isn't my thing & was never gonna satisfy my reading needs, but I can appreciate its quality. The ideas are amazing, I hate the presentation. The disjointed structure & unknown chronology/time scales just frustrate me. It's annoying to just get into a story/engage with characters only to have it end & never followed up. The narrative is just confusing, though,admittedly, gorgeously written.
pickHeaven, by Mieko Kawakami (2009, transl. 2021)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: Two bullied Japanese teenagers form a tenuous friendship.
Review: This was a very hard read. The descriptions of the bullying the two main characters experience are vivid and intense, and increase in severity as the book goes on. ⬇️
Starting this one today. Not really sure I'm feeling emotionally secure enough for "sad, but beautiful" in my current perimenopausal state, but hey-ho...
so-soUnder the Eye of the Little Bird, by Hiromi Kawakami (2016, transl. 2024)
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Premise: A novel in linked short stories about the distant fate of humanity.
Review: This will no doubt work for a lot of readers, but despite the fact that I can recognize that it‘s very well done, it was not for me. Told in short stories, all at different moments in the future,, this is meant to keep the reader off guard. Cont.
