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A review by bookwoods
Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada
2.0
1,5/5
Scattered All Over Earth (translated by Margaret Mitsutani) is the third book of Yoko Tawada’s that I’ve read, so I knew not to expect coherent world building or a classic plot. In this book especially the reader is thrown into curious circumstances: Japan doesn’t seem to exist anymore, though no one quite knows what happened to it. The novel sets off when a Japanese woman, Hiruki, who’s invented her own language to navigate Scandinavian countries, and a Danish linguist, Knut, meet and embark upon a search for someone with whom Hiruki could speak her native tongue. Along the way, other characters tag along for a journey through Europe.
Tawada makes poignant remarks regarding languages and nationality, and I was super intrigued by the beginning (lots of fun mentions of Finland and Moomins are a plus). However, the additional characters don’t feel necessary and take up space from Hiruki and Knut’s relationship, which is what I was invested in. The other characters are not only uninteresting, but also problematic in how they’re depicted. The treatment of the one trans character made me want to give this 0/5 stars, but as a whole the book gets 1,5/5 from me.
Scattered All Over Earth (translated by Margaret Mitsutani) is the third book of Yoko Tawada’s that I’ve read, so I knew not to expect coherent world building or a classic plot. In this book especially the reader is thrown into curious circumstances: Japan doesn’t seem to exist anymore, though no one quite knows what happened to it. The novel sets off when a Japanese woman, Hiruki, who’s invented her own language to navigate Scandinavian countries, and a Danish linguist, Knut, meet and embark upon a search for someone with whom Hiruki could speak her native tongue. Along the way, other characters tag along for a journey through Europe.
Tawada makes poignant remarks regarding languages and nationality, and I was super intrigued by the beginning (lots of fun mentions of Finland and Moomins are a plus). However, the additional characters don’t feel necessary and take up space from Hiruki and Knut’s relationship, which is what I was invested in. The other characters are not only uninteresting, but also problematic in how they’re depicted. The treatment of the one trans character made me want to give this 0/5 stars, but as a whole the book gets 1,5/5 from me.