Reviews

Wow, did I love this. I mean, I am always here for homing pigeon content, and my bias is increased by nerdy attention to Yamashita's expert pacing and the way she handles her abundance of characters in a compact story. I love everything about this style–the matter-of-fact miraculous, the not-quite-omniscient narrator and their coy final lines, the buoyant action, the scalpel-sharp observations of the world without needing to knife us too deep. I did not know how it would end.

The thing about characters is you don't need to know what they look like, necessarily, you only need to know what they want. There is a lot of action here but also short sketches of interiority, economical and revealing, which chart what makes these people happy as well as their intertwining downfalls. The story turns on the axis of desire, and you need a very keyed-in understanding of desire to weave a story around its consummation and disappointment. Somewhere in the last third of the book I reached that anxious point--that "You better not break my heart, Book. YOU BETTER NOT." And without giving too much away, I will say that Yamashita knows exactly which stories you need to avert complete desolation while still getting in some hits. But it is funny. Oh yes, I'm cracking up over the pointed digs at Brazilian bus travel, the hilariously tempestuous relationship between Bautista and Tania, the killer details about governments, corporations, and people in general. Basically, from the quirky beginnings to the final desolation, you will never have a better time getting your heart broken.

nijntjes's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

hufflo's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

mccordian's review against another edition

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5.0

I zigzagged through my library mumbling “whimsy” and “mirth” over and over. I must have looked mad, but had recently read so much sad. So I was looking for whimsy and mirth. This book has waves and waves of both, but sad is the strong undercurrent. And, you know, surf’s up, so I loved this moderny fairy tale. At introduction, each character lands a golden ticket of a story arc which quickly reveals to be a golden monkey’s paw. Tragic magic!

litprof's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Cleverly whimsical, this surprising novella was so fun to read, I'm definitely going to read more by Karen Tei Yamashita, whose style brings to mind a feminist Kurt Vonnegut. An original and enjoyable narrative written with abundant technical pizazz!

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