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happylilkt's review against another edition
4.0
Don't be fooled by the colorful pop-art cover—this book is a funeral dirge pared down to and delivered to the reader as a delicate haiku. Is Kazu more invisible as a ghost or as a homeless man? This reader found the edges blurred often and with depressingly great effect as Kazu's timeless (though usually time-stamped) memories and impressions share his history and literal haunts.
The imagery of roses, rain, collected cans, ginkgo leaves, tarps and trains make this a very textured, though quiet survey of loneliness, loss, and lucklessness.
*This is a depressing book*, but it is short, well written, and implicitly compassionate—otherwise I don't think I would have finished it. I didn't love it, or even enjoy it sometimes, but it is thought provoking, thoroughly original, and exquisitely constructed. I think many readers will dislike this book. Many will feel mixed, as I do. If I had loved it I would have given it 5 stars. Right now I'm between 3 and 4, but rounding up to 4.
Contains occasional strong profanity and some brief mature content (nothing scintillating).
(Literary impressionistic/atmospheric fiction. Depressing. Brief. Deserving award winner. Translated from Japanese. Would reread.)
The imagery of roses, rain, collected cans, ginkgo leaves, tarps and trains make this a very textured, though quiet survey of loneliness, loss, and lucklessness.
*This is a depressing book*, but it is short, well written, and implicitly compassionate—otherwise I don't think I would have finished it. I didn't love it, or even enjoy it sometimes, but it is thought provoking, thoroughly original, and exquisitely constructed. I think many readers will dislike this book. Many will feel mixed, as I do. If I had loved it I would have given it 5 stars. Right now I'm between 3 and 4, but rounding up to 4.
Contains occasional strong profanity and some brief mature content (nothing scintillating).
(Literary impressionistic/atmospheric fiction. Depressing. Brief. Deserving award winner. Translated from Japanese. Would reread.)
bryana1999's review against another edition
3.0
It was a sad story but it felt too disjointed. The overall story did not come together for me throughout the book. It was definitely upsetting and rather bleak about the situation of the homeless in Japan. I just wish there were more definitive moments in the book of where you were.
m_h_dahl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
3,75 stars✨
I was not prepared to read such a sad story. When I borrowed the book from the library, I had no idea what it was about. I was quite overwhelmed by how sad it was, and I probably wasn't in the right mood for such melancholic tone and profound reflections in a story. I suspect I would have appreciated it more at a different time. Nevertheless, it left a lasting impression on me.
Kazu, an old man born in Fukushima in 1933, whose life is curiously intertwined with the Imperial family through a series of coincidences. His journey brings him to Tokyo, to the park near Ueno Station, where his spirit now lingers after death. Here, Kazu's life unfolded, from working as a laborer during the preparations for the 1964 Olympics to ending up in the park's homeless villages. The devastation of the 2011 tsunami and the announcement of the 2020 Olympics only deepen his sense of displacement and anger.
But the story isn't just about Kazu; it’s a broader critique of societal structures and a poignant exploration of Japan's marginalized. Yu Miri, writing from her unique perspective as a Zainichi (Korean-Japanese) author, delivers a potent rebuke to the Imperial system and a deeply empathetic portrayal of Japan’s most vulnerable people.
‘Tokyo Ueno Station’ describe the stark divide between the wealthy and the poor. Kazu's life, marked by relentless labor and ultimate poverty, stands in sharp contrast to the lives of the Imperial family, who exist in a realm of privilege and security. This disparity is evident in the way society treats its homeless. When the Emperor’s limousine is set to pass through Ueno Park, the homeless must pack up their belongings and disappear, their existence deemed a blight on the city’s image.
Kazu, even in death, observes the world around him as an invisible entity, and I think this ghostly existence serves as a powerful metaphor for how society ignores the homeless. Kazu’s incorporeal state underscores how unnoticed and unseen the homeless are, despite living among the bustling populace of Tokyo. Kazu reflects on the cruel twists of fate that led him to homelessness, questioning whether poverty is a sin or if sin is a result of poverty.
I was not prepared to read such a sad story. When I borrowed the book from the library, I had no idea what it was about. I was quite overwhelmed by how sad it was, and I probably wasn't in the right mood for such melancholic tone and profound reflections in a story. I suspect I would have appreciated it more at a different time. Nevertheless, it left a lasting impression on me.
Kazu, an old man born in Fukushima in 1933, whose life is curiously intertwined with the Imperial family through a series of coincidences. His journey brings him to Tokyo, to the park near Ueno Station, where his spirit now lingers after death. Here, Kazu's life unfolded, from working as a laborer during the preparations for the 1964 Olympics to ending up in the park's homeless villages. The devastation of the 2011 tsunami and the announcement of the 2020 Olympics only deepen his sense of displacement and anger.
But the story isn't just about Kazu; it’s a broader critique of societal structures and a poignant exploration of Japan's marginalized. Yu Miri, writing from her unique perspective as a Zainichi (Korean-Japanese) author, delivers a potent rebuke to the Imperial system and a deeply empathetic portrayal of Japan’s most vulnerable people.
‘Tokyo Ueno Station’ describe the stark divide between the wealthy and the poor. Kazu's life, marked by relentless labor and ultimate poverty, stands in sharp contrast to the lives of the Imperial family, who exist in a realm of privilege and security. This disparity is evident in the way society treats its homeless. When the Emperor’s limousine is set to pass through Ueno Park, the homeless must pack up their belongings and disappear, their existence deemed a blight on the city’s image.
Kazu, even in death, observes the world around him as an invisible entity, and I think this ghostly existence serves as a powerful metaphor for how society ignores the homeless. Kazu’s incorporeal state underscores how unnoticed and unseen the homeless are, despite living among the bustling populace of Tokyo. Kazu reflects on the cruel twists of fate that led him to homelessness, questioning whether poverty is a sin or if sin is a result of poverty.
professorearlamental's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
saulitobereading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ka_schulze's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
brettashleyyy's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This made me feel hollow inside, and for how quick a read it should be, it did feel like a drag at times. Beautifully melancholic and full of regret and yearning. I need a drink after this one.
roctothorpe's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This haunting little book follows Kazu, a recently deceased homeless man, whose spirit lingers in Ueno Park after death. In sparse and scattered memories, we piece together reflections on his past. They paint a picture of life that is exhausting and casually, senselessly cruel. What's the opposite of nostalgic? It's the feeling of reading this book, where the past is steeped in a sense of loss and bitterness.
On a large scale, this book is about social hierarchy and class divide. In quiet but angry strokes, Yu depicts the poverty and sacrifice of the working class that built modern Japan. On a small scale, this book reflects on the personal experience of homelessness, where you are simultaneously invisible as people walk past you but still laid naked in full view. The sections that hit hardest for me were scenes where Kazu overhears these mundane, insignificant conversations in the park as an observer but never a participant. In a lot of ways, these encounters reflect Kazu's broader existence as life passively occurs around him and he just continues existing. Astonishingly sad, and not in a cathartic crying kind of way but more of a numb and raw emptiness.
“I thought what a thing of sin poverty was, that there could be nothing more sinful than forcing a small child to lie. The wages of that sin were poverty, a wage that one could not endure, leading one to sin again, and as long as one could not pull oneself out of poverty, the cycle would repeat until death.”
On a large scale, this book is about social hierarchy and class divide. In quiet but angry strokes, Yu depicts the poverty and sacrifice of the working class that built modern Japan. On a small scale, this book reflects on the personal experience of homelessness, where you are simultaneously invisible as people walk past you but still laid naked in full view. The sections that hit hardest for me were scenes where Kazu overhears these mundane, insignificant conversations in the park as an observer but never a participant. In a lot of ways, these encounters reflect Kazu's broader existence as life passively occurs around him and he just continues existing. Astonishingly sad, and not in a cathartic crying kind of way but more of a numb and raw emptiness.
“I thought what a thing of sin poverty was, that there could be nothing more sinful than forcing a small child to lie. The wages of that sin were poverty, a wage that one could not endure, leading one to sin again, and as long as one could not pull oneself out of poverty, the cycle would repeat until death.”
linniescorner's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25