samihami's Reviews (112)

I liked this book and it’s take on life’s challenges and changes. 
It is a very simple story but it talks about the long, hard to detect changes in one’s character and in the way we are used to live. But it also delves into sudden changes which create chaos, grief, turmoil and anxiety. Hiraide highlights the importance of peace and quiet and contempt and the acceptance of the changes that one may start to observe in their everyday life. 
The symbolism of lighting is used to enhance this message, as a lightning is sudden by nature but is followed by quiet and/or thunder, just like life. 

I’m confused about the story here. I wish I could talk to the author and ask “What are you trying to do here?”
I felt that there are strong themes such as bodily autonomy, female sexuality, the mis- and under-diagnosis of women, partnership and parenthood. 
But the execution just doesn’t read well. Sometimes I felt that the author tried to explore too many things at the same time and other times focused on one topic for wax too long. 
I think it is already bad that I don’t know the name of the main character or what her work is. And even though we spend over 300 pages in her head, I still don’t understand what the fuck she is thinking. 
Most of the work is just the main character excusing her behaviour and gaslighting herself, other characters, and the reader into believing she means good. I understand that she is going through a mid-life crisis but I just think the execution was overboard. 
I am all for women exploring their sexuality, body and relationships at whichever age but the author wrote this as if the character is a literal sociopath with no concept of empathy or the honest truth. 
Maybe this was an attempt at an unreliable character but I wasn’t impressed. 
The other characters seem like archetypes that the author chose for each them and made a little development upon them. There is a lot of talk about developing and evolving but it’s rarely shown and the only significant change I could sense was in her husband. The character herself? Not really. 
I may give it a try later but I can’t promise anything. 

Garmus has put out a masterpiece that anyone and every one can and should read. It is a swift read full of moving themes and storylines. 
The characters are as if they were in the room with you. 
The writing is fierce and witty, creating the perfect formula (pun intended;) ) for a fun read with a powerful message. 
Using Chekov’s gun, Garmus achieves the “omg it all makes sense, it’s all connected moment” at the very end as well as throughout the piece. 
You are not left with unexplained information or side-plots; it all fits together like puzzle pieces to create the wonderful work that the Lessons In Chemistry is. 

What a masterpiece. 
The writing is stunning and Caleb Azumah Nelson uses it to express and navigate the themes of loneliness, family, community, heritage, music, love, dance, vulnerability, cross-cultural differences, immigration, generational stress and trauma, and so much more. 
It is rich and you will feel like you wanna tattoo something from every page. 
Characters leave the page and it is almost as if they were real people in the room with you. 
The author isn’t afraid to be raw and subject the reader to depression, grief, loneliness, and longing. But still offers an empathetic and open approach to the adversities of life. 

Pages of Matilda are filled with grief, pain, sorrow, death and longing. 
The writing is magnificent and the author’s take on depression and grief astounds me. It is deeply emotional, telling the story of a girl’s unfortunate life. 
I found it hard to read and I hope it didn’t put me into a reading slump. 

Really funny with insights into feminism, class adversity, and phonetics. 

Ironically I enioyed the short story Life of a Stupid Man the least. It was strange, and I just didn’t see the point.  
The first short story about the investigation, however, was very compelling. The issue with different testimonies and perspectives on a case is a real struggle in law and I think Akutagawa draws out the nuances in human experience very well. 

The writing is wonderful and I applaud Mieko Kawakami at portraying alienation, loneliness, alcoholism, desperation, depression and so many more relatable and difficult issues. 
I recognise the good writing but I was sometimes little bored and didn’t always understand the characters’ motivations. 

The mystery is done so well. If you can read foreshadowing, then it id clear to you how the story ends but I enjoyed the ways the author explored the mystery. 
The characters have their archetypes but are still multidimensional which is a very nice contrast that we can often see when comparing fiction and reality; something that in this piece is combined and the line between the two is blurred. 

Another Gaiman’s work that I just couldn’t put down. 
The way he threads different story lines and connects them all at the end is so masterful. 
I’m also noticing a theme of a character whose life is turned upside down and they have no other choice but get swayed by the effect and gradually lose their mind, before finding peace once more (American Gods have a similar element). This is another thing that is well done and I’m genuinely enjoying the crazy situations Charlie is put through. 
The madness, tension, comedy, romance, chaos, great deal of coincidence, and the constant presence of the gods. Just a fun fun read. 
Also Gaiman really knows how to write an unlikeable character cause I really wanted to punch Graham Coats every time he appeared on the page.