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lostcupofstars's review against another edition
1.0
I found the structure of this a headache to follow. It was like a stream of consciousness at times, but also switched from first to third person without warning, often mid paragraph.
The lack of speech marks was also annoying because at times it made it difficult to understand who was saying what.
The backstory about the brother was the most interesting part of this - outside of that I found there were far too many biblical references I didn’t care for and nothing really happening.
I do think the synopsis of this is somewhat misleading - I was expecting something more akin to Ghost Music by An Yu but actually I didn’t get what this was trying to say and I didn’t enjoy the journey of trying to figure it out.
The lack of speech marks was also annoying because at times it made it difficult to understand who was saying what.
The backstory about the brother was the most interesting part of this - outside of that I found there were far too many biblical references I didn’t care for and nothing really happening.
I do think the synopsis of this is somewhat misleading - I was expecting something more akin to Ghost Music by An Yu but actually I didn’t get what this was trying to say and I didn’t enjoy the journey of trying to figure it out.
clarice629's review
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is one abstract book. I’m not sure I grasp its essence but its hopeless vibe attracted me and so I finished the book.
I THINK it has a few themes.
One is the concept of death- the physical death and emotional death. But both death kill your self identity, kill your will to forge your own path or embrace your path.
The other theme is to live. One survives by being numb to the outside but has he ever lived? At that one crucial moment one will see inside himself if his strength is to keep loving or to die when possible.
Another theme is grief. How it lies dormant in you until something or someone comes along and flips the switch and you have to acknowledge your grief. Grief can also be transferred to the next person. I’m grieving so you should feel my pain too.
Like what I wrote above, not sure if i caught the book’s essence but i tried!
I THINK it has a few themes.
One is the concept of death- the physical death and emotional death. But both death kill your self identity, kill your will to forge your own path or embrace your path.
The other theme is to live. One survives by being numb to the outside but has he ever lived? At that one crucial moment one will see inside himself if his strength is to keep loving or to die when possible.
Another theme is grief. How it lies dormant in you until something or someone comes along and flips the switch and you have to acknowledge your grief. Grief can also be transferred to the next person. I’m grieving so you should feel my pain too.
Like what I wrote above, not sure if i caught the book’s essence but i tried!
bookishmornings's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
girliterature's review
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bookishlysophie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A story about loss, grief and discovery with so many layers. I truly enjoyed how abstract this book felt. The analogies were superb. I really enjoyed it. Definitely an emotional read. I’d recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Grief
andeedeeh's review against another edition
3.0
“Love at Six Thousand Degrees” what does it mean? 6,000 degrees is the temperature felt when an atomic bomb goes off. The WW2 bombings in Japan were the death of many things as well as the catalyst for the creation of others. In this way, this unsettling love story does the same for our unnamed narrator, “the woman.”
The anonymous housewife, living in an unknown suburb, in one of many units in a large suburban apartment building, tells us she’s haunted by visions of a mushroom cloud, memories of her dead alcoholic brother and a misogynist mother. During her sudden escape to Nagasaki, she has an affair with a half-Russian, half-Japanese young man who suffers from severe skin allergies that resemble burn-like wounds all over his body. Having been abused in the past, she takes the role of the perpetrator with this meek young man. As their affair unravels, there are many references to things fusing and becoming new from death- plastic trinkets melted together from the bombs at the museum, her sexual experiences with the youth, their discussions on the Holy Fools within the Orthodox Church, the youth wanting to become one with her through love, marriage, and even physically by using her perfume.
I interpreted this in very biblical terms. The woman is plebeian soul, lost without god. The youth is a Christ-like figure. He takes her abuse to alleviate her suffering, he saves her from death, he wraps himself in Frankincense and is bathed by the woman in a caring way (like Mary Magdalen did to Christ), and finally, once she “confesses” her sins to him, in a church, she feels reborn enough to go back home.
So what is this story about? Freedom through suffering. Life after death. Understanding that one is both good and evil, both the axe cutting the tree and the tree turned to wood.
This was an odd read I’d like to try again once I read or watch Hiroshima Mon amour.
The anonymous housewife, living in an unknown suburb, in one of many units in a large suburban apartment building, tells us she’s haunted by visions of a mushroom cloud, memories of her dead alcoholic brother and a misogynist mother. During her sudden escape to Nagasaki, she has an affair with a half-Russian, half-Japanese young man who suffers from severe skin allergies that resemble burn-like wounds all over his body. Having been abused in the past, she takes the role of the perpetrator with this meek young man. As their affair unravels, there are many references to things fusing and becoming new from death- plastic trinkets melted together from the bombs at the museum, her sexual experiences with the youth, their discussions on the Holy Fools within the Orthodox Church, the youth wanting to become one with her through love, marriage, and even physically by using her perfume.
I interpreted this in very biblical terms. The woman is plebeian soul, lost without god. The youth is a Christ-like figure. He takes her abuse to alleviate her suffering, he saves her from death, he wraps himself in Frankincense and is bathed by the woman in a caring way (like Mary Magdalen did to Christ), and finally, once she “confesses” her sins to him, in a church, she feels reborn enough to go back home.
So what is this story about? Freedom through suffering. Life after death. Understanding that one is both good and evil, both the axe cutting the tree and the tree turned to wood.
This was an odd read I’d like to try again once I read or watch Hiroshima Mon amour.
salatanita's review against another edition
challenging
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
An utterly confusing book. The narration switches between first person and third person, there are no speech marks to know who is saying what, and the author rambles about lots of seemingly unrelated topics. One paragraph is about his deceased brother, another one is about Orthodox Church liturgies, and then about the nuclear attack of Nagasaki.
"There is a book in my head, it's pages in disarray." I think the author has several books in her head and their pages are definitely in disarray.
This is an award-winning novel so there must be a literary value there but unfortunately I couldn't find it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Europa Editions for an Advance Review Copy.
"There is a book in my head, it's pages in disarray." I think the author has several books in her head and their pages are definitely in disarray.
This is an award-winning novel so there must be a literary value there but unfortunately I couldn't find it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Europa Editions for an Advance Review Copy.
jrreads1012's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
4.25
maishdsn's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0