It’s not a good sign when you finish something thinking ‘finally.’ I wrote a bunch of notes on this, but I really fee it didn’t amount to much. He seems to jump between any political topic that interests him randomly during the book, which adds to the already very all over the place plotting. Most importantly, the prose just isn’t that beautiful. I so rarely read something and felt impressed by the abilities of the author. It still gets 3 stars because the whole set up of the TV show was interesting (as long as we were there) and a few sections will always stay with me. The dad fighting with ‘you’ about the backalley orchiectomy was just so tense and painful throughout. I could feel his anger building. And the sex scene at the beginning was delightful and hilarious. I would have loved more time with the other contestants.
ちなみに舞台は一応恋愛リアリティショーである。しかし話のほとんどは「モモ」視点での世間の観察と批評に当てられている為、プロット目当ての読者は物足りなく感じると思われる。また、文体が説明的なのが個人的には合わなかった。ただ、日本では取り上げられにくいトピックにどんどん挑戦していく作者が日本にもいると思うと、とても頼もしいし、これからの作品が楽しみです。 ------ Very ambitious book talking about colonization and its impact on racial identity, the autonomy of trans children, American media and its racism, the continued exploitation of island colonies and its inequality, etc. I feel very excited and hopeful of the fact that books like this are being written and recognized in Japan :D
While I support the ideas the author explores, I felt that the book read like a cultural analysis essay instead of a novel - telling instead of showing. The plot of the main character being in a dating reality show felt kind of neglected, and I would’ve loved to see that more. But overall, it is a short read (3hours), and I am excited to see what he writes in the future!