Count me thoroughly surprised with "Cinder", a book I started with a raised brow, and fell in love with almost just two or three pages in.
"Cinder" tells the story of, well, Cinder, a cyborg girl that works as a mechanic, has a horrible stepmother, two too self-centered sisters, and a prince that happens to come to her shop with an android she has to repair. Do you need anything else or can you already develop the plot and where it is going to in your head? In case you need something else, this is after Fourth World War, we are in Asia, there is a horrible plague going on, and from the Moon comes the threat of the Lunar people and their queen, the Lunars people with powers that can make people from Earth do things they wouldn't want to.
Yes. It is not Dickens or Proust. Or some of the modern ones like Franzen. And it doesn't need to. Because, to my surprise (as I was afraid I was going to find another "Divergent" or "The Maze Runner", Meyer does an amazing work in balancing the silly (to me) aspects: prince, ball, 'I-want-to-be-pretty-pretty-pretty' with the sci-fi setting, the threat of war, the fear of being too different and ending alone to create an enthralling first volume to "The Lunar Chronicles". It is easy to say this is just a silly story about a girl that just wants to be prettier to find a boy (and in some ways it is), but it is also too entertaining, and with so nice a pace, that you will be willing to forget its shortcomings (really, who is taking care of all those sick people that anyone can come and go from the quarantine center without anyone wondering?).
The best: it is gripping; Cinder is an interesting character; the dystopian/futuristic tone is well set and well developed; it is fun
The worst: you can see where it will end up already on page one; the time frame is a little bit shaky; what kind of security does this country have?, everyone should be dead by now because of the plague; too much emphasis on Cinder's (and everyone else) looks? (and yes, I know it comes as a 'rethinking' of "Cinderella"
Alternatives: "The Hunger Games", "The Handmaid's Tale", the first "Twilight" (even with its shortcomings) or "Harry Potter" (in the chosen one narrative)
7/10
(Original English)
Friday, January 10, 2020
The Earthquake Bird - Susanna Jones
Ambiguous feeling. That is how I felt almost all through "The Earthquake Bird", unsure of what to make of a book with poor style, lame plot, and stereotypical characters, on top of a plain and simplistic image of Tokyo. I was unsure because I was expecting the book to pull off a twist, a surprise, something that would give meaning to the story. But no, it basically ends up in a long and sad whimper that leaves the reader with the feeling of having been had.
It all goes around Lucy, a person which I have the feeling Susanna Jones wants us to infer has some kind of mental illness or developmental disorder, who works as a translator in Japan and has a weird sexual relationship with a guy that works at a noodles shop and also moonlights as a photographer for himself. When one day a woman from her own part in England appears lost and in need of help in Tokyo, a friend of Lucy asks her to help this new expat arrival.
I think Jones was trying to make some kind of meta-metaphorical analysis of being abroad, what makes you leave your 'roots' (cough cough) and want to see new places, and stay there, and how this changes you till you become someone who doesn't belong anywhere, unsure, without attachments, without a way to connect, and how Japan seems to be a particularly good place to some particular kind of foreigner (at least in the time frame in which the novel is set). And she decided to make it some kind of murder mystery to sell it better.
However, she fails miserable. The depiction of Japan and Japanese people (or Tokyo) is really shallow and poor. The depiction of being fish-out-of-water also fails. And the mystery is... non-existent. And Lucy (and Teiji and Lily; heck anyone) makes little sense as a character, her decisions head-scratching-ly stupid and pointless. She seems to be on a mission to make herself miserable, but just for the sake of the plot, because we are given little reason to understand the decisions she takes in order to destroy her life in Tokyo. And the lame 'kind-of-happy' ending...
Bad.
The good: the ambiguous atmosphere; you can read it in one afternoon
The bad: luckily for you it can be read fast, because it is kind of pointless; the characters are totally basic, the plot is totally basic; some developments make zero sense; the listless description of life in Tokyo (it could be anywhere; just putting some Japanese names don't a place make); the resolution (or not)
Alternatives: For another look on Japan, with some mystery thrown into it (or the other way around), let's try Natsuo Kirino, Yusuke Kishi, Miyabe Miyuki, Kyōtarō Nishimura... The list is endless
4/10
(English)
It all goes around Lucy, a person which I have the feeling Susanna Jones wants us to infer has some kind of mental illness or developmental disorder, who works as a translator in Japan and has a weird sexual relationship with a guy that works at a noodles shop and also moonlights as a photographer for himself. When one day a woman from her own part in England appears lost and in need of help in Tokyo, a friend of Lucy asks her to help this new expat arrival.
I think Jones was trying to make some kind of meta-metaphorical analysis of being abroad, what makes you leave your 'roots' (cough cough) and want to see new places, and stay there, and how this changes you till you become someone who doesn't belong anywhere, unsure, without attachments, without a way to connect, and how Japan seems to be a particularly good place to some particular kind of foreigner (at least in the time frame in which the novel is set). And she decided to make it some kind of murder mystery to sell it better.
However, she fails miserable. The depiction of Japan and Japanese people (or Tokyo) is really shallow and poor. The depiction of being fish-out-of-water also fails. And the mystery is... non-existent. And Lucy (and Teiji and Lily; heck anyone) makes little sense as a character, her decisions head-scratching-ly stupid and pointless. She seems to be on a mission to make herself miserable, but just for the sake of the plot, because we are given little reason to understand the decisions she takes in order to destroy her life in Tokyo. And the lame 'kind-of-happy' ending...
Bad.
The good: the ambiguous atmosphere; you can read it in one afternoon
The bad: luckily for you it can be read fast, because it is kind of pointless; the characters are totally basic, the plot is totally basic; some developments make zero sense; the listless description of life in Tokyo (it could be anywhere; just putting some Japanese names don't a place make); the resolution (or not)
Alternatives: For another look on Japan, with some mystery thrown into it (or the other way around), let's try Natsuo Kirino, Yusuke Kishi, Miyabe Miyuki, Kyōtarō Nishimura... The list is endless
4/10
(English)
Sunday, December 29, 2019
That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story - Huda Fahmy
"That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story" is an interesting read, with a great start, and some very good visual gags that, unfortunately, falls shorts in delivering on the high expectations the author creates in the first pages.
In this graphic novel, Huda Fahmy tells the story of how she met and married her husband. It all starts really well, with a short guide for people that need to know some concepts about Muslim culture and then jumping to the moment she met her husband.
But stop! We need first to see, understand and go with Fahmy through the rules of dating, of intergender relationships, of courtship, of suitors... etc., etc., before we can go back to the moment she got to meet her husband. Some of this is great, with a funny and relatable way to explain things and a couple of very funny moments (and also easy to understand for people who could come from a different background).
However, it all end ups being overly simplistic, with repetition of the same gags and ideas over and over... and over. The chaperone one is one of the few that keeps being funny, but a couple of the others, on to of becoming repetitive, could also make some readers raise their eyebrows (but here we enter into the topic of believes, ideas, etc...).
Also, for what is supposed to be a love story, there is little of love or character development here: look how I met that guy, let's go back to see how I understood relationships as a young Muslim woman; see, we meet this guy again. Married.
End.
It makes for a blunt, over-simplistic, character arc. It is good to see how the character (and her environment) understands relationships, etc., but the author just telling me her husband is funny, handsome and the perfect partner does not make for compelling storytelling or laugh out loud moments.
The best: it is a love story with heart; some visual gags; the start
The worst: but it is also a love story that doesn't exist, with pace problems all along the graphic novel, some of Fahmy's opinions are too far away from my own views to really enjoy a couple of situations
Further reading: no idea about something similar, right now, so, maybe Cabre's "Jo confesso" for family relationships (in a very different environment) or Atwood's "The Edible Woman" for another take on a woman that is thinking about marriage
6.5/10
(Original English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
In this graphic novel, Huda Fahmy tells the story of how she met and married her husband. It all starts really well, with a short guide for people that need to know some concepts about Muslim culture and then jumping to the moment she met her husband.
But stop! We need first to see, understand and go with Fahmy through the rules of dating, of intergender relationships, of courtship, of suitors... etc., etc., before we can go back to the moment she got to meet her husband. Some of this is great, with a funny and relatable way to explain things and a couple of very funny moments (and also easy to understand for people who could come from a different background).
However, it all end ups being overly simplistic, with repetition of the same gags and ideas over and over... and over. The chaperone one is one of the few that keeps being funny, but a couple of the others, on to of becoming repetitive, could also make some readers raise their eyebrows (but here we enter into the topic of believes, ideas, etc...).
Also, for what is supposed to be a love story, there is little of love or character development here: look how I met that guy, let's go back to see how I understood relationships as a young Muslim woman; see, we meet this guy again. Married.
End.
It makes for a blunt, over-simplistic, character arc. It is good to see how the character (and her environment) understands relationships, etc., but the author just telling me her husband is funny, handsome and the perfect partner does not make for compelling storytelling or laugh out loud moments.
The best: it is a love story with heart; some visual gags; the start
The worst: but it is also a love story that doesn't exist, with pace problems all along the graphic novel, some of Fahmy's opinions are too far away from my own views to really enjoy a couple of situations
Further reading: no idea about something similar, right now, so, maybe Cabre's "Jo confesso" for family relationships (in a very different environment) or Atwood's "The Edible Woman" for another take on a woman that is thinking about marriage
6.5/10
(Original English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
Saturday, December 28, 2019
ソロモンの偽証: 第II部 決意 上巻 - 宮部 みゆき (Miyuki Miyabe)
I feel quite ambivalent about this book. On the one hand, it is fun, it is a page-turner, the story is simple but compelling, and Miyabe's knack to create interesting youngsters is as good as ever. On the other hand, it feels more of the same, and, really, nothing actually happens. You could jump from the ending of book two of the series to the fourth and probably be able to follow the story without many problems.
Because... Well, what does really happen here? Ryōko decides that, as Kashiwagi's death is still a mystery, the middle school students that were of the same year as the deceased have to organize a 'mock' trial and find the truth behind the death... Cue pages and more pages of easy to read conversations, with interesting (but a little bit stereotypical, particularly the adults) characters, and some head-scratching situations that border on the unbelievable. And little, or none, plot development.
Fun, but one has to wonder what was Miyabe thinking when she decided to stretch the story so thin.
The best: a page-turner
The worst: it is just air, page after page of nothingness
Alternatives: well, read the first two or Miyabe's own "Brave Story"... but, today, and just for today, I will recommend manga instead of other books. Manga with middle or high school students at their center: "Slam Jump", "アゲイン！！" ("Again!!"), "響" (Hibiki), "センセイ君主" ("My Teacher, My Love")...
6.5/10
(Original Japanese)
Because... Well, what does really happen here? Ryōko decides that, as Kashiwagi's death is still a mystery, the middle school students that were of the same year as the deceased have to organize a 'mock' trial and find the truth behind the death... Cue pages and more pages of easy to read conversations, with interesting (but a little bit stereotypical, particularly the adults) characters, and some head-scratching situations that border on the unbelievable. And little, or none, plot development.
Fun, but one has to wonder what was Miyabe thinking when she decided to stretch the story so thin.
The best: a page-turner
The worst: it is just air, page after page of nothingness
Alternatives: well, read the first two or Miyabe's own "Brave Story"... but, today, and just for today, I will recommend manga instead of other books. Manga with middle or high school students at their center: "Slam Jump", "アゲイン！！" ("Again!!"), "響" (Hibiki), "センセイ君主" ("My Teacher, My Love")...
6.5/10
(Original Japanese)
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Gretel - Ben Meares
This is a story of witches. Or at least one that doesn't want to be. "Gretel" revolves around... well, Gretel (yep, the one with the brother and the witch, or at least one with the same name, also a brother and also a witch that wants to eat them... or at least their heart), a woman that became a witch hunter around three hundred years ago, after she and her brother were kidnapped (and the brother killed; back then she was just a child). Gretel was saved and then trained by a random guy with a beard and then, after she had become strong enough, started to rid the world of all those bad women of yore. However, after a while, you get tired of killing witches, and the same happened to Gretel. We find her in America, having given up on killing witches... or not exactly, because lately witches are trying to hunt her down. Why? And she has also had a vision that says her former mentor is going to be killed. Gretel will not allow this.
"Gretel" is an entertaining comic, with interesting characters (even though the bad are very bad and the good kind of bad too) and a simple but non-stop plot that never becomes boring, and keeps the reader turning the pages. It is actually so simple that sometimes one would desire a little bit more to chew on.
The only couple of downsides are a tendency for the story to travel in time that becomes a little bit too much the umpteenth time we are sent two hundred years ago for four or five pages of background, or the tendency of the story to add a lot of exposition to this. Luckily for us, the atmosphere, the darkness, the violence, the characters, more than make up for this shortcomings.
The drawing style fits perfectly the story, even if some of the strips make sometimes for difficult reading. It is clear, it develops well the action and it conveys the story perfectly. It is also attractive. However, as always, we could make a couple of commentaries around the choice of clothing of the females here, but that is not something only this comic is guilty of.
A guilty pleasure waiting to be read.
The best: the drawing style is nice; the plot, even if simple, is entertaining; acceptable action and gore
The worst: Too much jumping back in time for exposition time; the plot is sometimes too simple; the ending is a little bit abrupt
Alternatives: hmmm... "Fullmetal Alchemist", because
7/10
(English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
"Gretel" is an entertaining comic, with interesting characters (even though the bad are very bad and the good kind of bad too) and a simple but non-stop plot that never becomes boring, and keeps the reader turning the pages. It is actually so simple that sometimes one would desire a little bit more to chew on.
The only couple of downsides are a tendency for the story to travel in time that becomes a little bit too much the umpteenth time we are sent two hundred years ago for four or five pages of background, or the tendency of the story to add a lot of exposition to this. Luckily for us, the atmosphere, the darkness, the violence, the characters, more than make up for this shortcomings.
The drawing style fits perfectly the story, even if some of the strips make sometimes for difficult reading. It is clear, it develops well the action and it conveys the story perfectly. It is also attractive. However, as always, we could make a couple of commentaries around the choice of clothing of the females here, but that is not something only this comic is guilty of.
A guilty pleasure waiting to be read.
The best: the drawing style is nice; the plot, even if simple, is entertaining; acceptable action and gore
The worst: Too much jumping back in time for exposition time; the plot is sometimes too simple; the ending is a little bit abrupt
Alternatives: hmmm... "Fullmetal Alchemist", because
7/10
(English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
Extremely disappointing. "Northern Lights" is a very poor read, with lame characters, poor world construction and worrying ideology that does little to entice the reader with its simple plot and unnecessary violence.
The story is your typical book for children that are not so children anymore: the chosen child, with a big adventure, a big mystery, big stuff all around. But if in Harry Potter, Rowling, for all the shortcomings of the series, did great in developing relatable characters and creating a world worth living in (in part playing to the 'I wish my school days were like that' tune), Pullman fails miserable all the time. The writing style is simplistic, the plot non-existent, with so many Deux Ex Machina moments you feel his obvious distaste for the church is actually a disguise, silly over-the-top violence, and a heavy handed treatment of many topics, for starters with the 'a bear must be a bear', a worrisome message if there was one (it is not the only time Pullman pulls a 'you should just be what you are, never try to challenge the status quo' message in the story). For so much about a child fighting against adults, it is curious his obsession with sending messages about 'your right place' in society.
Not good.
The best: some ideas in the world creation
The worst: unnecessary violence, too many Deux Ex Machina moments, the attack on the church is just silly and out of nowhere (please, develop, Pullman, develop), the messages about knowing your place and never challenge what you are are worrisome
Alternatives: Jonathan Stroud's "Bartimaeus" (really funny), Terry Pratchett's for younger readers (whatever that means), "Beyond the Deepwoods"... If you are older... (or the one you are going to give a book to is older) "Harry Potter", "Hunger Games", "Lord of the Rings"...
3.5/10
(Original English)
The story is your typical book for children that are not so children anymore: the chosen child, with a big adventure, a big mystery, big stuff all around. But if in Harry Potter, Rowling, for all the shortcomings of the series, did great in developing relatable characters and creating a world worth living in (in part playing to the 'I wish my school days were like that' tune), Pullman fails miserable all the time. The writing style is simplistic, the plot non-existent, with so many Deux Ex Machina moments you feel his obvious distaste for the church is actually a disguise, silly over-the-top violence, and a heavy handed treatment of many topics, for starters with the 'a bear must be a bear', a worrisome message if there was one (it is not the only time Pullman pulls a 'you should just be what you are, never try to challenge the status quo' message in the story). For so much about a child fighting against adults, it is curious his obsession with sending messages about 'your right place' in society.
Not good.
The best: some ideas in the world creation
The worst: unnecessary violence, too many Deux Ex Machina moments, the attack on the church is just silly and out of nowhere (please, develop, Pullman, develop), the messages about knowing your place and never challenge what you are are worrisome
Alternatives: Jonathan Stroud's "Bartimaeus" (really funny), Terry Pratchett's for younger readers (whatever that means), "Beyond the Deepwoods"... If you are older... (or the one you are going to give a book to is older) "Harry Potter", "Hunger Games", "Lord of the Rings"...
3.5/10
(Original English)
Saturday, December 21, 2019
"Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe" by Stacy King (& Edgar Allan Poe)
"Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe" is a manga adaptation of five of Edgar Allan Poe's stories (and poem): "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Raven", "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" (you have to wonder why those and not others maybe better suited for a manga adaptation). And the result, even if far of a tragedy, is a middling effort that leaves the reader with a strange aftertaste, because you will feel the ingredients for a great work were here, but the mixing and the cooking were a disgrace.
Let's start with the stories: they are short and to the point, with darkness, a Gothic and beautiful atmosphere and dark instincts. No criticisms here. But the adaptation does little to enhance Poe's words; quite the opposite, with so many bubbles of description and narration and no interaction between them and the drawings, it detaches the reader from the work they have in front of their eyes. Stories that should bring a shudder and make the heart beat fast, end up being boring, cold, and repetitive.
It doesn't help that the drawing style, even if beautiful, seems too cute for these kind of stories. All the characters are too clean, too handsome, too infantile, for the stories, and make the stark contrast between text and art more accentuated.
Not a horrible manga. But it could have been so much more (for starters, alive).
The best: the atmosphere; it will make you want to go and read the original Edgar Allan Poe
The worst: too many bubbles of description and narration and not enough (almost not at all) of dialogue (and I know art is art (for example, you can have a comic without dialogue), but I expect my drawings and my text to interact); too cold; too cute; some other stories (better for the medium, could have been chosen)
Further reading: go read Edgar Allan Poe
5/10
(Original English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
Let's start with the stories: they are short and to the point, with darkness, a Gothic and beautiful atmosphere and dark instincts. No criticisms here. But the adaptation does little to enhance Poe's words; quite the opposite, with so many bubbles of description and narration and no interaction between them and the drawings, it detaches the reader from the work they have in front of their eyes. Stories that should bring a shudder and make the heart beat fast, end up being boring, cold, and repetitive.
It doesn't help that the drawing style, even if beautiful, seems too cute for these kind of stories. All the characters are too clean, too handsome, too infantile, for the stories, and make the stark contrast between text and art more accentuated.
Not a horrible manga. But it could have been so much more (for starters, alive).
The best: the atmosphere; it will make you want to go and read the original Edgar Allan Poe
The worst: too many bubbles of description and narration and not enough (almost not at all) of dialogue (and I know art is art (for example, you can have a comic without dialogue), but I expect my drawings and my text to interact); too cold; too cute; some other stories (better for the medium, could have been chosen)
Further reading: go read Edgar Allan Poe
5/10
(Original English)
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy*
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