futurama's reviews
316 reviews

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Stopped reading this in December 2020 and picked it up again bc I was craving more Japanese lit, something ethereal and light where nothing happens. Tsukiko is such a slacker and that made me think of the new “rise” of “slacker literature” (memorial, pizza girl) in the USA. Most protagonists in contemporary Japanese lit are slackers. Look at banana, h murakami, ryu murakami. No goals no western canon
Outlawed by Anna North

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adventurous fast-paced

3.5

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

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sad tense slow-paced

4.5

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

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dark medium-paced

3.0

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Abandon the Old in Tokyo by Yoshihiro Tatsumi

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dark reflective medium-paced

4.0

My first 'gekiga.' Explained in the Q&A with Adrian Tomine at the end of the novel, a gekiga is a darker, more realistic style of cartoons depicting real life. 'Abandon the old...' is a realistic and depressing look at postwar 1960s Tokyo when economics were thriving and the class divide was increasing. Looking forward to reading more Tastsumi and gekiga. 
One Day in December by Josie Silver

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

no man is worth it!! 
Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East by Benjamin Law

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock

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dark sad medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The set up of the climax is the whole book making it a cinematic read. The multiple POV shifts threw me off at first but once you're used to it (a few chapters in) then it's a wild ride