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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
Salmonella Men on Planet Porno is a collection of varied tales which all have a bizarre or surreal angle (some more than others). I actually hadn’t planned to read it yet, but couldn’t resist just trying the first story about a strange plant – the dibba-dabba plant - which, if placed at the foot of the bed, causes its owners to have erotic dreams. The dreams are so life-like the dreamers aren’t sure any more what’s a dream and what’s real, and even meet other dibba-dabba owners having dreams of their own. The story was sufficiently weird and amusing to hook me in and before I knew it I’d read the whole book.
Despite the book’s name, most of the stories aren’t sexual in nature, and none of them are particularly explicit. The title story comes at the end of the book and is more of a theory of evolution couched in story form than anything else. It’s the longest tale – more of a novella actually – and concerns a group of scientists on a mission to a distant planet, nicknamed Planet Porno because all the flora and fauna seems more driven by sex than anything else. I found this story a little tedious, and in general found the stories towards the beginning of the book to be much stronger.
My favourites included a war pastiche in which a soldier to commutes to the front daily, a poignant story about the drudgery of life in which a man and his family spend a bank holiday at the seaside and end up wading like lemmings out to sea with thousands of others who have chosen to do the same, and a strange tale of a man who takes a train to a hidden mountain village and takes part in some very unusual festivities there.
As an introduction to Japanese weirdness, this was great and has definitely left me with an urge to dig deeper. I loved the slightly jokey style, and imagined the stories being read to me in gleeful tones by a grinning narrator. However, the stories themselves were very much hit and miss, and there were a few too many duds in amongst them for me to really rate the book highly. I’ll give it three stars, but I’d like to try a full-length novel by Tsutsui and see how he might develop some of his highly original ideas into something a big meatier
Despite the book’s name, most of the stories aren’t sexual in nature, and none of them are particularly explicit. The title story comes at the end of the book and is more of a theory of evolution couched in story form than anything else. It’s the longest tale – more of a novella actually – and concerns a group of scientists on a mission to a distant planet, nicknamed Planet Porno because all the flora and fauna seems more driven by sex than anything else. I found this story a little tedious, and in general found the stories towards the beginning of the book to be much stronger.
My favourites included a war pastiche in which a soldier to commutes to the front daily, a poignant story about the drudgery of life in which a man and his family spend a bank holiday at the seaside and end up wading like lemmings out to sea with thousands of others who have chosen to do the same, and a strange tale of a man who takes a train to a hidden mountain village and takes part in some very unusual festivities there.
As an introduction to Japanese weirdness, this was great and has definitely left me with an urge to dig deeper. I loved the slightly jokey style, and imagined the stories being read to me in gleeful tones by a grinning narrator. However, the stories themselves were very much hit and miss, and there were a few too many duds in amongst them for me to really rate the book highly. I’ll give it three stars, but I’d like to try a full-length novel by Tsutsui and see how he might develop some of his highly original ideas into something a big meatier
Vreemde titel, vreemd boek, vol met rare verhalen that don't make any sense, maar aangenaam tijdverdrijf zijn. Niet alle verhalen even goed. Bij bijvoorbeeld het titelverhaal ga je je toch afvragen wat voor soort persoon de schrijver is :-)
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Funny little collection of Sci-fi stories. Tsutsui's got a good sense of humor - interested in his novels
2.5/5
Algunos relatos me han gustado mucho, otros no tanto...
Algunos relatos me han gustado mucho, otros no tanto...
The book is as weird as its title - which is what drew me to it.
Weirdness is what I got. The Absurd situations and premises in the stories are enjoyable. But I didn't find any connections with characters. More of a clinical, intellectual experience.
Weirdness is what I got. The Absurd situations and premises in the stories are enjoyable. But I didn't find any connections with characters. More of a clinical, intellectual experience.
Collection of satirical, absurd, dark and magical realism short fiction.
I did not finish this book, which is a rarity for me.
First of all, the notations say that this was translated/published in 2008, but the translation reads like it was done in about 1975 just from the tone of the language.
Not only that, but I honestly have no idea how someone could apparently know enough Japanese to be a professional translator and not know that there is no such thing as a "500 yen note" as indicated in the book (pro tip: anything below 1000 yen is in coinage).
I was trying to struggle through, as this is a collection of short stories...but even in small doses, I just couldn't do it...then, I looked at my profile on here, saw that I really didn't like the last thing I had read of his either, and finally made the decision to ditch it. He seems to be a master of taking premises that would be interesting and making them completely dull; and again, the translation doesn't help matters at all, but there's so little to all of this that even the best translator might not be able to make it work.
First of all, the notations say that this was translated/published in 2008, but the translation reads like it was done in about 1975 just from the tone of the language.
Not only that, but I honestly have no idea how someone could apparently know enough Japanese to be a professional translator and not know that there is no such thing as a "500 yen note" as indicated in the book (pro tip: anything below 1000 yen is in coinage).
I was trying to struggle through, as this is a collection of short stories...but even in small doses, I just couldn't do it...then, I looked at my profile on here, saw that I really didn't like the last thing I had read of his either, and finally made the decision to ditch it. He seems to be a master of taking premises that would be interesting and making them completely dull; and again, the translation doesn't help matters at all, but there's so little to all of this that even the best translator might not be able to make it work.
I was drawn to the absurd title and I'm really not too sure what to make of this collection. It's a real curate's egg and much of it made me laugh out loud, particularly the title story. However as inventive and thought provoking some tales may be, others are downright rubbish. I particularly enjoyed The Last Smoker, but The Dabba Dabba Tree was just stupid and utterly predictable.
All in all it's a 50/50 from me...2.5 stars
All in all it's a 50/50 from me...2.5 stars
I got this beautiful looking book from the library. The received stamp is dated 2008 and five years later it looks immaculate. I'm not sure there's much demand for fantastical allegories of 70s Japanese society in Western Australia. However highly regarded the author is in his native country and however rare it is to find his work translated to English.
I hate the idea of mentioning him but there really is similarity to Haruki Murakami in this collection of short stories from Tsutsui. It feels like a lazy comparison however, they're both Japanese, one is an international superstar of magical realism style fiction and the other wrote novels that were the basis for anime. It's bordering on comparing both authors to the creator of Godzilla but it's the best I can do! I do however see in them the evolution of the traditional literary fantasy story form from Akutagawa to Tsutsui, which is bordering on an academic conclusion if you stretch the definition far enough.
Tsutsui's stories are incredibly surreal, absurdist takes on contemporary Japan, originally published in the late 70s they still remain relevant commentary on 21st century western culture. Whether that is because the West has caught up with Japan or things change a lot less than we would like to credit ourselves with I cannot say.
As with about all collections of short stories there are the good, the bad and the ugly and you never know what you're going to get from one to the next. If you're interested in Japanese culture as analysed by a popular Japanese icon then this collection is well worth your time. If you're looking for titillation based on the rather bizarre title I suggest that you keep on searching for your next fix.
I hate the idea of mentioning him but there really is similarity to Haruki Murakami in this collection of short stories from Tsutsui. It feels like a lazy comparison however, they're both Japanese, one is an international superstar of magical realism style fiction and the other wrote novels that were the basis for anime. It's bordering on comparing both authors to the creator of Godzilla but it's the best I can do! I do however see in them the evolution of the traditional literary fantasy story form from Akutagawa to Tsutsui, which is bordering on an academic conclusion if you stretch the definition far enough.
Tsutsui's stories are incredibly surreal, absurdist takes on contemporary Japan, originally published in the late 70s they still remain relevant commentary on 21st century western culture. Whether that is because the West has caught up with Japan or things change a lot less than we would like to credit ourselves with I cannot say.
As with about all collections of short stories there are the good, the bad and the ugly and you never know what you're going to get from one to the next. If you're interested in Japanese culture as analysed by a popular Japanese icon then this collection is well worth your time. If you're looking for titillation based on the rather bizarre title I suggest that you keep on searching for your next fix.