Scan barcode
orlaelan's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Abandonment, and Chronic illness
i_write_on_occasion's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book presents interesting ideas, but these ideas are merely presented and are not expanded upon in any way. There was potential for there to be a really interesting commentary on these themes with an interesting concept, but unfortuantely, it falls flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Child death
Moderate: Death and Body horror
sldccc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, and Death
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
reflective
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Chronic illness, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Police brutality, Abandonment, Death of parent, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Addiction
Minor: Child death, Excrement, War, Child abuse, and Vomit
ishouldreadthat's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
An incredibly quiet post-apocalyptic book about an elderly man caring for his fragile grandson. Lovely, but the lack of plot kept me from getting sucked in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Chronic illness
liltastypuff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Child death
Moderate: Death of parent
serendipitysbooks's review
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The Emissary is a slim little dystopian novel from Japan. It’s set in a world beset by climate change and the effects of some sort of disaster - possibly nuclear. National isolation has become the norm as countries attempt to deal with their own difficulties, while keeping those of other countries out. While the young are born fragile and become weaker with time, they are also wise. Meanwhile older people remain strong and healthy, but tend towards melancholy. The story follows Yoshiro and his great-grandson Mumei. As with all dystopian works it critiques recent social and political issues.
For me this book fell into the dreaded “it was fine” category (I’ve been having a lot of those recently and am wondering if it is some sort of reading slump) which means I don’t really have a lot to say. The relationship between Mumei and Yoshiro was sweet. The prose was sparse, as I have come to expect from Japanese novels. I might have preferred a slightly more expansive, less understated story. A good reminder not to mess up the world our children and grandchildren will inherit, and to seek joy and happiness where we can.
For me this book fell into the dreaded “it was fine” category (I’ve been having a lot of those recently and am wondering if it is some sort of reading slump) which means I don’t really have a lot to say. The relationship between Mumei and Yoshiro was sweet. The prose was sparse, as I have come to expect from Japanese novels. I might have preferred a slightly more expansive, less understated story. A good reminder not to mess up the world our children and grandchildren will inherit, and to seek joy and happiness where we can.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Child death
rhogregoire's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Read this for a comparative literature class on apocalyptic fiction. The imagery is very pretty: it feels a bit like a collection of visual scenes that flow into each other.
It's a pretty classic bad climate future - Japan has no future - it's totally isolated, losing language, with the elderly caring for dying children who seem to become less and less human as time goes on. Assuming it's not just a quirk of translation, the descriptive language adds a lot to the book. It's really heavy on similes and metaphors: everything is a little like something else. The author avoids describing anything in it's own right, often using descriptions which are visually interesting but don't make a lot of literal sense (for example, describing the sun moving like a "hunted animal") which adds to the hazy imagery. The language also echos the narrative of a closed system - the dying children mean the country cannot regenerate, as well as Japan's isolation - and self-censorship to avoid doing or saying anything that might be deemed foreign.
It's a pretty classic bad climate future - Japan has no future - it's totally isolated, losing language, with the elderly caring for dying children who seem to become less and less human as time goes on. Assuming it's not just a quirk of translation, the descriptive language adds a lot to the book. It's really heavy on similes and metaphors: everything is a little like something else. The author avoids describing anything in it's own right, often using descriptions which are visually interesting but don't make a lot of literal sense (for example, describing the sun moving like a "hunted animal") which adds to the hazy imagery. The language also echos the narrative of a closed system - the dying children mean the country cannot regenerate, as well as Japan's isolation - and self-censorship to avoid doing or saying anything that might be deemed foreign.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Terminal illness
little_enid's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Child death
Minor: Death and Chronic illness
More...