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La chica de los cigarrillos
Bienvenidos a los silenciosos y sugerentes dramas urbanos de Masahiko Matsumoto. Publicados originalmente en 1974, estos once relatos constituyen la primera recopilación en español de la obra madura de Matsumoto. Dinero, sexo y amor, junto al peso de una tradición milenaria, son algunos de los dramas a los que se enfrentan, con un toque de humor y ligereza, sus tímidos héroes.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 56 reviews
September 6, 2016
Most men lead lives of quiet desperation—Thoreau
This is for all the lonely people—America
Subdued slice-of-life manga gekiga, realist, stories that emerged in the seventies in part maybe in response to the early cartoony kiddie manga of manga godfather Tezuka. Tezuka evolved into more adult themes too during this period. As in: Can manga potentially be a useful form for addressing life as it is really is? This is the first collection of Matsumoto’s to be translated into English, thanks to Top Shelf, 11 stories produced 1972-1974 and published in 1974. Another gekiga artist, Yoshiro Tatsumi, (Abandon the Old in Tokyo; Goodbye) writes the introduction, and Tadao Tsuge’s work (Trash Market) is also in the ballpark of similarity, but Matsumoto’s work retains some of the cartoony manga visuals from Tezuka, and isn’t quite so harsh or dark, thematically, as Tatsumi’s or Tsuge’s work, maybe because of the effect of the art. There’s a kind of sweetness in it. The stories seem on the surface a little detached, but I felt the heart, the compassion, coming through.
Not much happens in the stories, not much gets resolved. Sometimes, as in life itself, things just end. It is the poor, the lonely, the destitute, that are his focus, such as the boy crushing on the Cigarette Girl and buying carton after carton of her cigarettes though never talking to her. There’s also an amusing story of a door to door condom saleswoman, so it’s not without some humor.
So this is tonally Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles) territory. A little bit of Harvey Pekar (American Splendor) territory, in American comics, or Seth’s work, in Canada, and I love all this stuff. And Chris Ware. Will Eisner’s Lower East Side depression stories. Everyday people, not Hamlet, let’s just say.
It is great that we are getting all of these older manga in translation, to help us get to know all this comics history. I see it has a very low rating from only 32 people rating it so far, but I think there’s a subtlety to this work that I appreciate. We seem to have had very little like it in American comics, so it may just be that we in the U. S. are used to being entertained in a certain way and this is unfamiliar storytelling, but you think we’d see more work like this now; there’s certainly plenty of poverty and destitution to go around.
This is for all the lonely people—America
Subdued slice-of-life manga gekiga, realist, stories that emerged in the seventies in part maybe in response to the early cartoony kiddie manga of manga godfather Tezuka. Tezuka evolved into more adult themes too during this period. As in: Can manga potentially be a useful form for addressing life as it is really is? This is the first collection of Matsumoto’s to be translated into English, thanks to Top Shelf, 11 stories produced 1972-1974 and published in 1974. Another gekiga artist, Yoshiro Tatsumi, (Abandon the Old in Tokyo; Goodbye) writes the introduction, and Tadao Tsuge’s work (Trash Market) is also in the ballpark of similarity, but Matsumoto’s work retains some of the cartoony manga visuals from Tezuka, and isn’t quite so harsh or dark, thematically, as Tatsumi’s or Tsuge’s work, maybe because of the effect of the art. There’s a kind of sweetness in it. The stories seem on the surface a little detached, but I felt the heart, the compassion, coming through.
Not much happens in the stories, not much gets resolved. Sometimes, as in life itself, things just end. It is the poor, the lonely, the destitute, that are his focus, such as the boy crushing on the Cigarette Girl and buying carton after carton of her cigarettes though never talking to her. There’s also an amusing story of a door to door condom saleswoman, so it’s not without some humor.
So this is tonally Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles) territory. A little bit of Harvey Pekar (American Splendor) territory, in American comics, or Seth’s work, in Canada, and I love all this stuff. And Chris Ware. Will Eisner’s Lower East Side depression stories. Everyday people, not Hamlet, let’s just say.
It is great that we are getting all of these older manga in translation, to help us get to know all this comics history. I see it has a very low rating from only 32 people rating it so far, but I think there’s a subtlety to this work that I appreciate. We seem to have had very little like it in American comics, so it may just be that we in the U. S. are used to being entertained in a certain way and this is unfamiliar storytelling, but you think we’d see more work like this now; there’s certainly plenty of poverty and destitution to go around.
November 2, 2016
Cigarette Girl collects eleven whimsical, quietly odd urban dramas by alternative manga artist Masahiko Matsumoto--stories that were originally published in the early 1970s, and that are now Matsumoto's first to become available in English translation. The stories revolve around a bunch of peculiar, shy yet often surprisingly headstrong characters on the margins of society. My favorite story was the awkwardly romantic "A Scarlet Kiss," but the whole book introduced me to a side of early 70s Japan I had never seen before--one that usually does not find its way into popular culture. Recommended to fans of the more low-key, idiosyncratic kind of alternative comic book!
October 26, 2022
Originally produced in the early 1970s, these graphic stories depict ordinary Japanese urban life, with all its humour and complications, during a slightly earlier period. This generation of artists in Japan were children during World War II, and having first been educated under a militaristic system, then later told everything they were taught was wrong and Japan was now a democracy, developed a sense of disillusionment and cynicism reflected in these gritty stories.
Great insight here into post war Japan, and the everyday preoccupations of city residents. Several of the stories are connected, following the quiet adventures of "Happy-Chan," a young woman who is a door-to-door condom salesperson.
There is also room in these pieces for the "obscure" — readers are left with space to fill in the blanks, and create their own story out of the material provided. Such is life.
Great insight here into post war Japan, and the everyday preoccupations of city residents. Several of the stories are connected, following the quiet adventures of "Happy-Chan," a young woman who is a door-to-door condom salesperson.
There is also room in these pieces for the "obscure" — readers are left with space to fill in the blanks, and create their own story out of the material provided. Such is life.
Read
August 3, 2018This is an important example of Gekiga (劇画), a Japanese genre distinction akin to the English usage of "graphic novel"to distinguish more (hypothetically) literary and adult works from the maligned "comic book". They tend to have more realistic subject matter dealing with adult life issues.
And now, back to manga.
And now, back to manga.
June 25, 2016
As far as I can tell, this is the first collection of Matsumoto's work to appear in English. I hope it isn't the last, because I would love to read more. These stories first appeared in the early 70's. They are all self contained (okay, except for the chapters of "Happy-Chan") and feature urban settings with shy, uncertain heroes. Some are down on their luck. Some retain their optimism in spite of life's troubles. The closest English language equivalent I can think of is Seth's or Harvey Pekar's work (though, as far as I know, Matsumoto's work isn't autobiographical. ) There's a quietness to these stories. The artwork makes it seem like a gag, but there's a wistfulness and subtlety to these stories. As Seán Michael Wilson, the English language editor, puts it in his introduction, "... the tales make few definite conclusions, preferring--like life itself--to leave things open and ... obscure ..." There are some fine stories in here. I'm particularly fond of "A Scarlet Kiss" and "To Somewhere ...", the last two stories in the book. This is definitely not typical manga. There's much more range and depth to be found here. Highly recommended!
January 5, 2018
Lower class slices of life from the mid-70's and prior, not erotic or violent and usually a bit funny with art that is not cutesy. Mostly hapless romantics and failures making their way through the world. The door to door condom saleswoman Happy-chan chapters were especially weirdly funny. The living conditions would seem unreal to an American, but lower end Japanese apartments used to be pretty terrible, like many parts of the US at one time.
September 16, 2022
I wanted to like this more because it seems right up my alley. I love these older Japanese realistic mangas like the ones by Tatsumi, Shigeru, Tadao Tsuge and Yoshiharu Tsuge. This unfortunately is not quite on their level. It's a bit more cartoony and very subdued.
I still want way more of these 50s-80s mangas translated and produced! So please give this one a purchase haha
I still want way more of these 50s-80s mangas translated and produced! So please give this one a purchase haha
April 20, 2017
A very unique and amazing comics, reflecting the normal japanis life in 70s
February 26, 2017
He tardado en cogerle el punto a estas historias. Después de las tres primeras, breves fragmentos en la vida de unos personajes desconocidos perfilados en dos viñetas, sin una trama a la que engancharse, me he dado cuenta del error que supone encadenarlas una detrás de otra. Leídas con calma he comenzado a entrar en ese Japón de los años 70 donde Matsumoto sitúa encuentros y desencuentros entre hombres y mujeres apretados por las convenciones, obligados a encontrar esposa o marido antes de que se les pase el arroz, con dificultades para expresar sus emociones y sentimientos. Las extrañas andanzas de una vendedora de condones a domicilio, la mala fortuna de un crápula traicionado por sus ganas de fiesta, la patética timidez de un joven que colapsa al tocar la mano de una chica... son el vehículo para este compendio de pequeños apocalipsis cotidianos, crueles pero también tiernos y, ocasionalmente, muy divertidos.
Me ha gustado mucho la narrativa, más acelerada y elíptica de la que estamos acostumbrados en los tebeos japoneses, pero con un problema serio. Matsumoto apenas sabe dibujar cinco rostros para sus personajes, lo que puede suponer un problema para distinguirlos y crea una desconcertante continuidad entre todas las piezas.
Me ha gustado mucho la narrativa, más acelerada y elíptica de la que estamos acostumbrados en los tebeos japoneses, pero con un problema serio. Matsumoto apenas sabe dibujar cinco rostros para sus personajes, lo que puede suponer un problema para distinguirlos y crea una desconcertante continuidad entre todas las piezas.
January 5, 2018
'Cigarette Girl' by Masahiko Matsumoto is a collection of manga from the 1970s. These stories come from the alternative comics movement known as "gekiga."
There are 11 stories collected here and they are about normal people and lives that don't feel fulfilled. One story follows an older lady as she tries to make her way as a condom salesperson. She ends up not being very good at sales, but pretty good at getting entangled in people's lives. In another story, a man buys cigarettes, not because he smokes, but because he secretly likes the woman who sells them.
Alternative and mature should be described more as indie film. The stories tell quiet stories of people interacting in each others lives and the solitude and isolation that can be felt even in a crowd of people. This volume also includes some essays about the artist and the work. It's an interesting collection of stories and I'm glad I got a chance to read it.
I received a review copy of this manga from Top Shelf Productions, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.
There are 11 stories collected here and they are about normal people and lives that don't feel fulfilled. One story follows an older lady as she tries to make her way as a condom salesperson. She ends up not being very good at sales, but pretty good at getting entangled in people's lives. In another story, a man buys cigarettes, not because he smokes, but because he secretly likes the woman who sells them.
Alternative and mature should be described more as indie film. The stories tell quiet stories of people interacting in each others lives and the solitude and isolation that can be felt even in a crowd of people. This volume also includes some essays about the artist and the work. It's an interesting collection of stories and I'm glad I got a chance to read it.
I received a review copy of this manga from Top Shelf Productions, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.
May 7, 2016
Stop, don't pick up this book, don't even consider this volume, if your idea of manga is full of pretty girls or robots or gods. This book is not for you.
Mashiko wrote about the downtrodden, the poor, the forgotten. I have read other volumes of his, and they are sad, and very slice of life. They are not happy, with heroes fighting crime, or cooking, or playing sports. These people are selling condoms door to door, or flirting with the cigarette seller on the corner. Sometimes the stories end with a resolution, but not always happy. Sometimes they just end.
So, if you want a different slice of Japanese manga, this might be the book for you.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Mashiko wrote about the downtrodden, the poor, the forgotten. I have read other volumes of his, and they are sad, and very slice of life. They are not happy, with heroes fighting crime, or cooking, or playing sports. These people are selling condoms door to door, or flirting with the cigarette seller on the corner. Sometimes the stories end with a resolution, but not always happy. Sometimes they just end.
So, if you want a different slice of Japanese manga, this might be the book for you.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
March 31, 2017
A master class in environmental storytelling!
November 28, 2021
A nice little collection, although some of the writing feels a little lost on me. The themes seem very particular to being in the contemporary culture of the work, which I’m too far removed from to get all the implications and subtleties. The drawings are great though and it can be pretty funny.
March 22, 2021
¡Que bueno! Es como si Carver hubiera sido japonés y dibujante de cómics. Ternura por toneladas, historias agridulces, una verdadera delicia. El dibujo, quizás, no sea excelente. Pero ¡que historias!
November 24, 2017
En esta ocasión no lo disfruté, creo que este estilo no es lo mio. No te puede gustar o disfrutar de todos.
May 1, 2025
Vulgar and rooted in heavy 70’s Japanese misogyny. I did appreciate how the main character’s light heartedness and confidence made heavy situations less heavy. Funny too!
May 16, 2016
Has a sparse, abbreviated feel, even when the frames are filled with text and drawing. The story is somehow aloof, withdrawn, bitter, emotionally stilted and dispassionate all at the same time. Honestly, it reminds me of some people male humans of my acquaintance. The story is set in Tokyo, and reminded me so much of the minor, seemingly unimportant things that I somehow miss and do not miss from living in Japan. The little things that remind me of everything.
Cigarette Girl overwhelmed me with the imagery, and left me feeling cold and a little down.
**eARC Netgalley**
Cigarette Girl overwhelmed me with the imagery, and left me feeling cold and a little down.
**eARC Netgalley**
June 7, 2016
My first exposure to Matsumoto's work. I have read about him, but his actual manga, which he preferred to call "komaga." It's a shame that more of his work hasn't been translated into English. We discussed this book on the May episode of our manga series: http://comicsalternative.com/manga-re....
January 9, 2024
Content notes: arranged marriage, nudity, smoking, cheating and sex.
Scrolling through Wikipedia Masahiko Matsumoto was born in Osaka in 1934 and died of cancer in 2005. Inspired initially by Osamu Tezuka, Matsumoto's work in alternative comics was in turn influential in the formation of gekiga.
After the completion of his autobiographical manga Gekiga Bakatachi!! (in 1980) Matsumoto focused his creativity on papercutting.
What kinds of keywords came to mind reading this compact volume? romance, relationships, parents, sales, community, pets, panties and eating.
Looking at the art, I actually found it pretty charming. Matsumoto's caricatures felt like they were extensions of the unassuming characters he was writing about. Distinctly uncharismatic. The line quality and panel framing were all very crisp and communicated the story well.
Writing wise, these short slice of life stories felt very rich and concise. A window into a very different time and place (particularly for us English speakers), each of the characters felt incredibly distinct and I felt pulled right into their lives. This book was hard to put down.
Looking at the intersections and identities. Obviously I am anything but an expert on Japan before I was born. But my impressions are the following:
Sexuality was very one note (aka heterosexual) but the most central theme connecting each of the short stories. Many of the characters are looking for new sexual relationships and some are hitting road blocks in their sexual relationships. One story involves a woman getting an abortion and I appreciated the matter a fact tone Matsumoto seemed to take over the choice.
Class is perhaps the thing I'm guessing the most at, but as I've already noted the characters felt very unassuming and perhaps of limited means. Work features prominently in most of our characters lives and the opening story features an unemployed fiance.
Gender didn't feel particularly explored. We have men, we have women. Both genders felt fairly well rendered.
Discourse around or representation of disability and racial diversity felt the most lacking.
Wrapping things up. As you may have guessed I did find this read extremely interesting - four stars. Separated by about a decade, I still couldn't help thinking about Talk to My Back by Yamada Murasaki. Which I would recommend to anyone who is willing to pick up a book about a housewife in 80s Japan. So good.
Scrolling through Wikipedia Masahiko Matsumoto was born in Osaka in 1934 and died of cancer in 2005. Inspired initially by Osamu Tezuka, Matsumoto's work in alternative comics was in turn influential in the formation of gekiga.
After the completion of his autobiographical manga Gekiga Bakatachi!! (in 1980) Matsumoto focused his creativity on papercutting.
What kinds of keywords came to mind reading this compact volume? romance, relationships, parents, sales, community, pets, panties and eating.
Looking at the art, I actually found it pretty charming. Matsumoto's caricatures felt like they were extensions of the unassuming characters he was writing about. Distinctly uncharismatic. The line quality and panel framing were all very crisp and communicated the story well.
Writing wise, these short slice of life stories felt very rich and concise. A window into a very different time and place (particularly for us English speakers), each of the characters felt incredibly distinct and I felt pulled right into their lives. This book was hard to put down.
Looking at the intersections and identities. Obviously I am anything but an expert on Japan before I was born. But my impressions are the following:
Sexuality was very one note (aka heterosexual) but the most central theme connecting each of the short stories. Many of the characters are looking for new sexual relationships and some are hitting road blocks in their sexual relationships. One story involves a woman getting an abortion and I appreciated the matter a fact tone Matsumoto seemed to take over the choice.
Class is perhaps the thing I'm guessing the most at, but as I've already noted the characters felt very unassuming and perhaps of limited means. Work features prominently in most of our characters lives and the opening story features an unemployed fiance.
Gender didn't feel particularly explored. We have men, we have women. Both genders felt fairly well rendered.
Discourse around or representation of disability and racial diversity felt the most lacking.
Wrapping things up. As you may have guessed I did find this read extremely interesting - four stars. Separated by about a decade, I still couldn't help thinking about Talk to My Back by Yamada Murasaki. Which I would recommend to anyone who is willing to pick up a book about a housewife in 80s Japan. So good.
December 13, 2022
Read this after Yoshihiro Tatsumi's "Drifting Life." More drifting here, but of the sad sack variety and perhaps more unique in often a focus on young aimless females, but plenty of aimless males as well. Series of sad-sack stories, opportunity rises up just enough to taunt and then collapse before the struggling characters.
"Happy-chan" gets the longest stretch, she's not a cigarette girl, but a condom girl. Some of the sales maneuvers on goading clients into over purchasing poke fun at those who pretend to have mastered the mating game. But no one in this short collection has their act together, it's hard enough to just get their laundry done.
That said the last story does sort offer an olive branch of help, a cigarette is involved, but not Cigarette girl. Instead two sad sack city denizens hit the end of the track to get out of town, and maybe just for a moment, maybe they find each other? She provides the spark...
I don't know enough about the Japanese scene and gegika school in particular. This does feel like more of a harmony with Daniel Clowes and honestly even though I dropped the phrase "sad sack" I don't know anything about the old comic under that name, in fact I think of the old Beetle Bailey daily strips more than anything else.
The artists style of drawing faces so similarly, and often twisted to portrait no matter the angle of body after awhile just kind of lost me. Maybe a more astute eye could spot more characterization in the visages, but I think maybe their similarity with popping eye and twisted necks is to unite them in a depersonalized anguish.
Makes me want to go back to "A Drifting Life" and see if Matumoto-san was one of the guys who hated being in the city. What is interesting to me is that the examples in "A Drifting Life" seemed more bent on grit and grime and sort of detective toughness, but this collection stands in soft contrast to the hard-boiled covers I recall from "Drifting"
Anyways, it got me thinking and it seems I am fortunate to find an English translation of this. Hmmmm, I wonder if my other son will end up using his budding Japanese to eventually translate more gegika or other interesting nuggets from manga's past. A little coin in his pocket might help him avoid the 2020's US version of sad sacks. ;>
"Happy-chan" gets the longest stretch, she's not a cigarette girl, but a condom girl. Some of the sales maneuvers on goading clients into over purchasing poke fun at those who pretend to have mastered the mating game. But no one in this short collection has their act together, it's hard enough to just get their laundry done.
That said the last story does sort offer an olive branch of help, a cigarette is involved, but not Cigarette girl. Instead two sad sack city denizens hit the end of the track to get out of town, and maybe just for a moment, maybe they find each other? She provides the spark...
I don't know enough about the Japanese scene and gegika school in particular. This does feel like more of a harmony with Daniel Clowes and honestly even though I dropped the phrase "sad sack" I don't know anything about the old comic under that name, in fact I think of the old Beetle Bailey daily strips more than anything else.
The artists style of drawing faces so similarly, and often twisted to portrait no matter the angle of body after awhile just kind of lost me. Maybe a more astute eye could spot more characterization in the visages, but I think maybe their similarity with popping eye and twisted necks is to unite them in a depersonalized anguish.
Makes me want to go back to "A Drifting Life" and see if Matumoto-san was one of the guys who hated being in the city. What is interesting to me is that the examples in "A Drifting Life" seemed more bent on grit and grime and sort of detective toughness, but this collection stands in soft contrast to the hard-boiled covers I recall from "Drifting"
Anyways, it got me thinking and it seems I am fortunate to find an English translation of this. Hmmmm, I wonder if my other son will end up using his budding Japanese to eventually translate more gegika or other interesting nuggets from manga's past. A little coin in his pocket might help him avoid the 2020's US version of sad sacks. ;>
January 13, 2018
“But gloves…don’t they have fingers?
I’m new to all this and fingers are really hard…but it’s okay because babies are always making a fist.
This is the sweater i knitted for Keisuke.
Wow, mom you’ve got some memory. “Don’t use that old wool” i say, “ just buy new stuff, you’re so stingy”
“When a mother is making things for her kid, she’s got all kids of hopes in her head” this one says…so there’s all sorts of dreams tied up in that wool she wants to pass on. Got a few screw loose, i think! *poke* OW! “
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This is my first ever gekiga experience and I honestly love it more than the typical manga. The illustrations are less fancy and it really shows the mundane and typical life of normal people. I adore it! The style of people are quite similar so it’s kinda hard to tell who’s who but the stories on this manga is what really matters. They’re all realistic from other corners of society plus amazing.
I’m new to all this and fingers are really hard…but it’s okay because babies are always making a fist.
This is the sweater i knitted for Keisuke.
Wow, mom you’ve got some memory. “Don’t use that old wool” i say, “ just buy new stuff, you’re so stingy”
“When a mother is making things for her kid, she’s got all kids of hopes in her head” this one says…so there’s all sorts of dreams tied up in that wool she wants to pass on. Got a few screw loose, i think! *poke* OW! “
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This is my first ever gekiga experience and I honestly love it more than the typical manga. The illustrations are less fancy and it really shows the mundane and typical life of normal people. I adore it! The style of people are quite similar so it’s kinda hard to tell who’s who but the stories on this manga is what really matters. They’re all realistic from other corners of society plus amazing.
November 17, 2022
A Drifting Life got me interested in not only Tatsumi's other work, but other mangaka from that Era. Matsumoto was a part of the group that spearheaded the gekiga movement, but there's not much of his work in english. This is a wonderful collection of short stories from the early seventies. It parallels Tatsumi's work from the same period in that it's about working class Japanese folk and their struggles, but it's far less hopeless than Tatsumi's short stories. Things don't work out for good for many of the characters in either creator's work, but here at least there is a quiet celebration of life's little joys and meaningful, if short-lived, connection with others. I wish there was more Matsumoto available in English.
December 18, 2018
This is a great collection of stories from the 1970s; as the front matter discusses, the everyday subject material was out of vogue at the time but depicts non-fantasy life in Japan so well (I am going to visit in March and it has given me a picture of how I might want to spend my time exploring cities and towns). I will admit that the right-to-left format still slows me down and possibly prevented me from getting some of the visual gags or story elements, but I just need to read more in this format. I love the way street noise and exclamations are illustrated and would love to see a short film based on the condom selling!
August 10, 2022
It took a while for me to get used to Matsumoto's style, as the small panels in his short stories sometimes seemed to take quick leaps, hoping the reader can follow along well enough through observation of character expressions and mannerisms. It probably would have helped if I lived in Japan during the early 70s and was able to catch all of the culture references on first read through, but eventually I picked up enough to understand a bit of the male/female dynamic and family expectations. Although not every story seemed to conclude neatly, I did really like "Cigarette Girl" story as well as all of the "Happy-Chan" stories in particular.
August 5, 2023
A series of quaint slice-of-life stories centered on urban life, relationships and awkward entanglements. The stories have subdued and at times melancholic tone to them, but also delve into the whimsical and endearing. Matsumoto's cartooning is intricately expressive and subtle in its execution, capably delivering a lot of story with sparing dialogue. These stories often feel like interesting snippets into the lives of ordinary folk, and as such never really feel resolved or conclusive. But it's still highly engaging stuff and visually very strong. Definitely an unconventional style that makes for a more memorable experience overall.
May 8, 2017
I'm not sure that I totally understood everything going on here... unless it really was just going for a sort of "slice-of-life wherein most things are terrible" thing. Which is not an insult- just important to realize before diving in. I think the person who used the "quiet lives of desperation" reference really nailed it. There were moments of tenderness, vulnerability, and and so on; but most things are kind of lousy and it goes on. Not bad, and important for "the canon" but not something I'd want to read on my own.
November 28, 2025
I appreciate the illustration of inanimate objects. Matsumoto excels at drawing architectural structures (apartments, shops, marquees, etc.). This detail compelled to continue reading. Clean lines that rivaled a blueprint.
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