Reviews

Devoured it in a day. I really love the style of writing here. It really does sound like how an old man would tell a story without adding any flashy or fictional details. To the point and he had such an interesting life. I didn’t know anything about the world of yakuzas or much about earlier Japan so it was really fun to read

grandmayulia's review against another edition

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5.0

I am currently playing the video games from the Yakuza franchise, and this book was far from my expectations, haha! Despite lacking boastful, intense fights, the story of Ijichi was still fascinating in its own way. I learned that the life of a yakuza is much simpler than the media paints it to be. It's much more about earning money through gambling and having great relationships with the people around you (other yakuza and average civilians) than beating people up all the time and being at war with various yakuza gangs. I enjoyed the simplicity of Ijichi's mind. He didn't try to show off or sell his story for more than what it was. He just told it as it happened, and the story spoke for itself. A great read! I highly recommend it to people interested in getting an insight into the life of a yakuza.

kolbilane's review against another edition

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4.0

Despite this book taking me a full month to read, I enjoyed it very much. I didn’t expect this book to bet set up the way it was, which is a collection of short stories from someone’s life. It’s a very interesting story about a very interesting man.

nrl's review against another edition

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5.0

One of those few books that can teleport you to another time and place to make you feel like you lived another life. Highly recommend.

trisicm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

melloncholy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

3.5

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