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Liked It “This is the first book I read from Banana Yoshimoto, though I have already known about her while doing research for one of my stories. My first impression of her (and mind you, I'm not the type that really has first impressions on every people I begin to know about or meet) is that she might be...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “This is a collection of 3 short stories with the common theme of sleep. (However, I read only the first 2). The first story was about a woman mourning for a lost lover, and who because of this, starts sleepwalking. The 2nd is about a woman who is haunted in her sleep by a woman against whom she...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“This is the first book I read from Banana Yoshimoto, though I have already known about her while doing research for one of my stories. My first impression of her (and mind you, I'm not the type that really has first impressions on every people I begin to know about or meet) is that she might be an interesting writer, partly because she's Japanese (I have this paradigm that Japanese people are mightily ingenious) and partly because critics have been raving about her writing. Though I'm not a critic, not much of a raver, too, and I don't have much credentials to begin endorsing something as big as Banana Yoshimoto that would make people actually listen to me, I'm honest enough to admit to myself that I was enamored by "Asleep." Among the three stories presented under this title, "Love Songs" is my favorite. Miss Yoshimoto wrote it in a sense that each word grips you, each line moves you, and each moment swallows you whole.
Jovi wrote this review Thursday, September 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
If you find yourself wanting to read "Asleep," prepare yourself to be awake for 2-3 hours more past your bedtime ;)”“This is a collection of 3 short stories with the common theme of sleep. (However, I read only the first 2). The first story was about a woman mourning for a lost lover, and who because of this, starts sleepwalking. The 2nd is about a woman who is haunted in her sleep by a woman against whom she was once pitted in a love triangle. In both stories, other themes which surfaced were death, the belief in spirits, and the existence of a spirit world. These themes are not wholly Japanese, but somewhat Asian-inspired.
a.k.a. SHY... I'm the real deal wrote this review Tuesday, September 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Another common theme that surfaced was sex. In the first story, the relationship was between a woman and her first cousin. In the 2nd story, it was about a love triangle, not totally controversial, if not for the mention that both women were in love with the same man, living with him, and “sharing” him.
Of the 3 stories, I only finished reading the first 2, as I was not encouraged to continue reading after the 2nd story. It was not a story I was drawn to, or intrigued by, and I felt that the writer’s weakness was that she failed to develop her characters, so as to be someone the readers could relate to, if not understand. I also couldn't help but wondering IF facets of the story were lost in the translation as this book was originally written in Japanese. Was the translated version better than the original (japanese) version? Or was it the other way around?
Rating : 2 / 4 bookmarks”
“don't know what to say”
let's read, please. wrote this review Monday, August 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“this was by far my favorite banana yoshimoto collective to date. the stories were painful, haunting, beautiful, and each one connected to a different part of me. the characters were beautifully written and "night and night's travelers' in particular was so tragic and touching that I think I will be contemplating it for a long time. ”
Claudia L wrote this review Friday, July 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“The stories were good but sad. It's enjoyable but the novels are better.”
Sorella M wrote this review Friday, July 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I think you have to be in a certain vibe to enjoy this book. Sometimes I found myself struggling to finish reading the paragraphs, just because some of it are expected already.
Annabs wrote this review Monday, April 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Not my favorite Yoshimoto, but a fun read nonetheless.”
“Asleep includes three different stories about three different women who have very peculiar dreams. The first one is about a woman whose brother died and his girlfriend is going out at night because of his death. Another is about a woman who's having dreams about an old rival. The third is about a woman whose dating a married man whose wife is in a coma.”
Tundra H wrote this review Thursday, November 6 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I am speechless. I hardly can put in words my feelings after finishing this wonderful book. What an enticing experience of reading! This thin book, only just 172 pages, is hypnotic -my copy is in Spanish. Yoshimoto's prose has the power to lull me, the dreamer, to charm as a spiteful account of whispers, to enrapture me for its naïf glimmerings of the intagible world. This quote illustrated these slippery feelings: "Sinking in to the bottom of the vision of lights that were happening opposite to me". 'Asleep' In this novel there are three women, three stories each one with dead people in the background: dead brother, dead lover, dead rival and also three sleeping pahologies: sleep-walking, insomnia and nightmares. Every story is entwined by a cobweb of beauty and almost unbearable sadness. The three tales are told with sorrowful sensuality with no florid prose but crystal clear and captivating style: "The cherry trees were in bloom when my brother left. I remember seeing petals drifting down here and there, like tiny flecks of light". 'Night and Night's Travellers' The themes are loneliness, death and void. The author open that landscape up of this lack till she succeeds in turning them into a slight sign of suspended fullness of being. All the characters feel a sort of fall in hell during their sleep as this passage in 'Asleep' tells: "When you sleep next to such a tired person, you begin to mark the rythm of your respiration to his, and it is a respiration so deep as, in the end ..., it is possible that you end up by inhaling the whole blackness that exists in his heart." My hat goes off to this female writer with such a fruit name. I have discovered a bit late this japanese writer but I am now a Banana-fan! ”
Elisabeth B wrote this review Tuesday, June 17 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A collection of stories on sleeping and dreaming - a good read.”
Katie H wrote this review Sunday, May 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
