妄想銀行

by Shinichi Hoshi, 星新一

人間のさまざまな妄想を取り扱うエフ博士の妄想銀行は連日大繁盛。しかし博士が、彼に思いを寄せる女から吸いとった妄想を自分の愛する女性に利用しようとしたのが誤ちのもとだった――奇想天外なユーモアのあふれる表題作。ほかに、道で拾った風変りな鍵に合う鍵穴を探すことに情熱を傾ける男の物語『鍵』、人生修行に出て説教癖のついたロボットの話『人間的』などS・S32編。

341 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 1978

About the author

Shinichi Hoshi (Japanese: 星新一) is recognized as one of Japan's most influential science fiction writers of all time, He published more than 1,000 of his signature "short-short" stories. Some call his crisp, no-frills prose the "Haiku of Science Fiction."

Reviews

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great read by Shinichi Hoshi, "妄想銀行" is another compilation, in this case of 32 short stories (in general longer, around 10-12 pages, than in "ボッコちゃん") that go from sci-fi to tongue-in-cheek, again showcasing the author's search and knack for originality.

However, after the blast of the first book, the feeling of wonder and surprise can't be maintained at the same levels and some of Hoshi's shortcomings come to light, as for example, his tendency to rely too much on last sentence punchline, on that second to last twist. Some of the stories fall flat because the punchline is not as strong as it should be and also because there is a sense of familiarity in some of the outcomes. There can be just so many surprises for the reader.

Nevertheless, the book is still a very funny read, and some of the stories are just, plain and simple, amazing. That it doesn't surprise as much as the first time I encountered Hoshi's stories, but that it still amazes and entertains, just comes to show how good and original a writer Hoshi was.

7.5/10

(Original Japanese Version)