Japanese Novels: Taekoo Suree
Jul. 14th, 2006 02:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanAnd now we have Kanehara Hitomi's Hebi ni Piasu.
I read this book right on the heels of Kagirinaku Toumei ni Chikai Buru. I'd been searching high and low for it for over a year before I finally located the hardcover at half price at Bookoff. Then I found the paperback (which was apparently just published) for half of what I paid for the used hardcover. Which is a shame, because the $$.00 for the paperback is just about what the read is worth.
Hebi ni Piasu has won a lot of awards. It's a fun book, but like![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
theosakakoneko, I don't feel that those awards are necessarily deserved. Doing a little background research on the high-school dropout author, I find that her father is a famous professor of literature. Make of this what you will.
Hebi is a quick, engaging read, but much like corn puffs, it fills you up without leaving any lasting impression of substance or enrichment. I enjoyed it, but don't feel I gained anything by reading it.
Contentwise, it's is the spiritual successor of Kagirinaku Toumei ni Chikai Buru in its fascination with dark subcultures (body modification and sex this time as opposed to drugs and sex). A love triangle is set up between the protagonist, the sweet-at-heart punk boyfriend with the uncontrollable violent streak, and the masochistic tattoo artist fuckbuddy. The main character mentions several times throughout the novel that she is going to be killed by one of the two. Thankfully, (and rather surprisingly) she was not, thus avoiding one of my most deeply-loathed clichés; that of the woman who is punished for having sex with multiple partners. The story features an ambiguous 'twist' ending which could have been intriguing if handled well, but instead struck me as though the author had written herself into a corner she couldn't get out of, or had become tired of writing the story, period. On the other hand, the ambiguity mirrors life in its inability to tidily tie up loose ends.
The author's potential (this was her first novel) shines through in several scenes, most notably the first major scene between the protagonist and the tattoo artist, and I think she'll be a good author if she learns how not to stumble into fanfic melodrama or cliche.
Hebi ni Piasu has been translated into English, so the non-Japanese enabled among you can check it out if you are so inclined. I would recommend checking it out from the library though, as it's fun but not something with a great deal of reread value.
That will be all.
I read this book right on the heels of Kagirinaku Toumei ni Chikai Buru. I'd been searching high and low for it for over a year before I finally located the hardcover at half price at Bookoff. Then I found the paperback (which was apparently just published) for half of what I paid for the used hardcover. Which is a shame, because the $$.00 for the paperback is just about what the read is worth.
Hebi ni Piasu has won a lot of awards. It's a fun book, but like
theosakakoneko, I don't feel that those awards are necessarily deserved. Doing a little background research on the high-school dropout author, I find that her father is a famous professor of literature. Make of this what you will.Hebi is a quick, engaging read, but much like corn puffs, it fills you up without leaving any lasting impression of substance or enrichment. I enjoyed it, but don't feel I gained anything by reading it.
Contentwise, it's is the spiritual successor of Kagirinaku Toumei ni Chikai Buru in its fascination with dark subcultures (body modification and sex this time as opposed to drugs and sex). A love triangle is set up between the protagonist, the sweet-at-heart punk boyfriend with the uncontrollable violent streak, and the masochistic tattoo artist fuckbuddy. The main character mentions several times throughout the novel that she is going to be killed by one of the two. Thankfully, (and rather surprisingly) she was not, thus avoiding one of my most deeply-loathed clichés; that of the woman who is punished for having sex with multiple partners. The story features an ambiguous 'twist' ending which could have been intriguing if handled well, but instead struck me as though the author had written herself into a corner she couldn't get out of, or had become tired of writing the story, period. On the other hand, the ambiguity mirrors life in its inability to tidily tie up loose ends.
The author's potential (this was her first novel) shines through in several scenes, most notably the first major scene between the protagonist and the tattoo artist, and I think she'll be a good author if she learns how not to stumble into fanfic melodrama or cliche.
Hebi ni Piasu has been translated into English, so the non-Japanese enabled among you can check it out if you are so inclined. I would recommend checking it out from the library though, as it's fun but not something with a great deal of reread value.
That will be all.
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no subject
on 2006-07-14 10:09 am (UTC)no subject
on 2006-07-18 01:51 pm (UTC)But yeah, interesting read. If I was staying here longer I'd check her later stuff out of the library to see if she's made good on the potential in this book.