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Liked It “Niezwykła książka. Bardzo krótka i napisana bardzo prostym językiem (co zdaje się znamionować większość japońskiej literatury, jaka wpadła mi w ręce), a jednocześnie bardzo intensywna, niepokojąca i magiczna. Ciekawe studium ludzkiej samotności i tego, co ta samotność potrafi zrobić z...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “It is one of those books that make me wonder if anyone can write a book. Japanese writers never impressed me that much, but I have to say they feed me quite well until the ending, but the book left no taste whatsoever in my mind.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Very cerebral Japanese ghost story about a man who meets his dead parents after 30 years. His girlfriend tries to save him, but... If you can get past the cultural difference in style, you'll find this book enjoyable.”
Laura M wrote this review Saturday, October 2, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“It is one of those books that make me wonder if anyone can write a book. Japanese writers never impressed me that much, but I have to say they feed me quite well until the ending, but the book left no taste whatsoever in my mind.”
thre4t wrote this review Monday, July 5, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Niezwykła książka. Bardzo krótka i napisana bardzo prostym językiem (co zdaje się znamionować większość japońskiej literatury, jaka wpadła mi w ręce), a jednocześnie bardzo intensywna, niepokojąca i magiczna. Ciekawe studium ludzkiej samotności i tego, co ta samotność potrafi zrobić z człowiekiem. Niesamowite jest dla mnie w tej książce to, że przenikanie się światów i duchy zmarłych rodziców wydają się stanowić zupełnie naturalny element świata rzeczywistego, a bohater porusza się między światami żywych i umarłych tak jak przeciętny człowiek przechodzi z pokoju do pokoju. Mimo pozornej prostoty tej historii, pojawia się w niej mnóstwo emocji i element zaskoczenia, kiedy pod sam koniec bohater zostaje uświadomiony, że tkwi w świecie duchów dużo głębiej niż przypuszczał. Jestem tą książką oczarowana i mam wrażenie, że będę do niej co jakiś czas wracać. Zdecydowanie pozycja godna polecenia.”
Zophiel wrote this review Tuesday, June 22, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A Japanese Ghost Story that will Haunt you...
Suzanne L wrote this review Tuesday, January 19, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
One of the things I love about the Japanese Literature I've discovered this year is its ability to weave the present day with the spirits of the past so matter of fact. Spirits are accepted as existing. Strangers by Taichi Yamada is such a story. It's a ghost story, but more than that. There is an underlying layer that makes this a much more complex story, one that will have you questioning your own heart...
Imagine meeting your parents when they are a young married couple... The exact age they were the last time you saw them... That is what happens to our main character, Harada, who is 47, recently divorced and pretty jaded. His parents were killed in an automobile accident when he was 12, and he was raised by his grandfather. One night he is compelled to visit the part of Tokyo where he grew up. He visits a theatre there, where he meets a man that looks exactly like his long-dead father... He can't believe his eyes, but he is compelled and soon obsessed to find out who this man is... How could you not be curious? And then as Harada is invited to the man's home and meets his wife, who just so happens to look just like his dead mother, how can you not be compelled to stay... even if you know none of this can be real. Or is real?
Taichi Tamada's prose is sparse but moving. He slowly builds the story around Harada, painting the story with a lost love & his divorce, new love, a demanding job, a son who has distanced himself from his father Harada after his parents divorce, and a strange building where Harada lives now. But it also is a story about the love one has for ones parents. As Harada deals with life as we all know it, there is this other surreal world that is wrapping itself around him, pulling him away from everything else. But how can Harada resist the love of his parents that he was cheated from as a small boy... The story is simply wonderful, with unexpected twists and turns that bring the story to a wonderful ending. It will haunt you after the last page...
I read this book is part of my Japanese Literature Challenge, which ends at the end of this month. I really enjoyed this book! What looked to be a simple story was not, and because of that it kept me turning the pages. Not to mention that Taichi Yamada writes well. It's a great introduction to Japanese Literature if you haven't read any yet, and at only 203 pages it's a reasonable time investment!”
“I loved this book. It has a very interesting plot and characters.”
Andrea M wrote this review Thursday, December 10, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Interesting ghost story with twists and turns and a surprise ending. Original and entertaining read - quite spooky.”
William T wrote this review Wednesday, August 18, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A modern day ghost story which grips from the very start. The writer paints a vivid picture of the turmoil experienced by the hero when he 'meets' his long dead parents and the how his life is changed by the experience. Truly chilling.”
George M wrote this review Saturday, September 27, 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“What I like about Japanese fiction is that it is subtle. I didn't see the final twist coming and I enjoyed it. Another thing I really liked was that the main character was not very likable, yet at the same time felt like an every man, but I still wanted to know what would happen. It's a nice mixture of feelings.”
tmmercury wrote this review Sunday, June 22, 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The book is about a recently divorced Japanese man who happens to stay in an aptmt /office building all by himself . It so happens that he is taken by the memories of his parents who died when he was only 12 yrs, and begins to see their apparitions.
Roopa s wrote this review Wednesday, November 28, 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
In the end it is revealed that it was a revengeful ghost of an equally lonely woman who on being spurned by him had committed suicide and had led him onto the land of the dead.
It made compelling read and I did not do any housework or teaching till I finished it but it was the bad ending that did me in. I was at the least expecting some buddhist or chinese philosophical reasoning behind his meeting up with the departed. But it was a misplaced revenge taken by a misunderstanding ghost upon an almost innocent divorcee. Ohhhhhhh!
THe striking part is how americanised is japanese urban life !!”
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