Biogenesis

by Tatsuaki Ishiguro

Collecting four stories by the inimitable Tatsuaki Ishiguro, contemporary Japanese literature’s most closely guarded secret until now, Biogenesis puts the “science” into science fiction not only on the level of subject matter but also form. At turns taking on the shadings of mystery and horror as well, Dr. Ishiguro’s odd yarns are a rare treat for all connoisseurs of genre fiction.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Horror, Japanese Literature, Fiction, Japan, Anthologies

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2015

Reviews

[Book Riot Community]

This book of four science fiction tales is about as science-y as you can get. Written like reports, these stories focus on individuals who are drawn into tantalizing and difficult scientific problems, whether it’s the bizarre extinction of the winged mouse species, or a plant that thrives on human blood. Ishiguro asks us to consider where we should draw the line between objective investigation and personal quest, and if that line is even useful. Highly recommended. — Rachel Cordasco



from The Best Books We Read In August: http://bookriot.com/2015/08/31/riot-r...

[Wally Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biogenesis by Tatsuaki Ishiguro is difficult to discuss. I thoroughly enjoyed the book's four stories and am writing this to introduce other people to Ishiguro's work, but I'm afraid I'm not skillful enough convey what makes the book so special.

Because, on the one hand, three of the four stories follow the form of a scientific report, not the most engaging short story format. (And I thought the last story in a more traditional form was not up to the level of the first three.) These could be accounts of research into actual plants and animals. There is very little action and the drama comes almost entirely from scientific discovery, investigations into a winged mouse that weeps blood tears and whose tiny "wings" vibrate and emit a faint glow in the dark...into a woman with pure white hair, no memory, and a body temperature of 75.2 F...into a plant that seems to need both radioactivity and human blood to thrive...and into a marine creature with miraculous cancer-healing powers. This is science fiction with a focus on science.

What makes the stories so powerful are the very human actions and conflicts of the scientists and others—army officers, doctors, professors, assistants, and observers—as they struggle to understand the mouse, woman, weed, and sea squirt that do not fit into standard categories. But not only to understand, to have consequences from the research. Why, Ishiguro is asking, do some species survive while others become extinct?

He observes, "In and of itself, the natural world admits of no laws or consistent narratives based on hypotheses. Attaching meaning to the natural world's various phenomena and aligning them into convincing narratives merely serves human interests. No matter how quantitatively a law is expressed, it is a human application and nothing more."

Three of the stories are set in Hokkaido and in the recent past when the northernmost Japanese island was even more wild and uncivilized than it is today. Ishiguro was born in Hokkaido in 1961, has served as a lecturer at Tokyo University and as an assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, so he is writing from inside knowledge. For example: "Adjusting the type and length of the primer as I went, I repeated the same steps nearly thirty times until finally, through trial and error, a single instance of synthetic reaction occurred. Using the automated DNA analyzer, I fed the resultant base strand into the computer. The results showed a perfect match for human (Homo sapiens) DNA."

The translations by Brian Watson and James Balzer, as the quotes above suggest, are fluent and clear. And Ishiguro studs the stories with interesting observations: "A progressive endeavor is rarely understood and when it comes to reporting on a rare illness, it is basically impossible if the messenger is not trusted. Were Yuki [the woman with abnormally low body temperature] to be transferred to some research facility, it is clear that she would be treated like a lab animal." In another story, the military allows the research to continue only because the army believes it will help the war effort.

Had an acquaintance recommended Biogenesis to me, I'm not sure I would have bothered. Now that I've read these unusual and powerful stories, all I can do is say I'm glad I have read them and to recommend them to others.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first story. But as other reviewers have observed, the range of the writing and the materials are fairly narrow. Oddly enough, instead of sticking to dry scientific prose, the last story, "The Hope Shore Sea Squirt", expands the range by just about exploding in cliches. For example,

Regret gnawed at him. Time was precious and he had been wasting it.

Ack.

Bill

[EuGrace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn between saying I liked or disliked this book and its four short stories. I'm leaning more on like. I stumbled upon Biogenesis by chance when I saw it for $7 at my local secondhand bookstore. The premise of a short story collection presented as scientific reports was intriguing, so I bought it, read it a year later, and just as quickly swapped it back with another secondhand bookstore for credit. Biogenesis had a very fleeting and tip-of-the-iceberg impact on my life, -- it occupied space in my bookshelf for less than fifteen months -- but I'm glad I checked out Ishiguro's work. I also read it soon after I read Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, so I guess I've been on a bit of a sci-fi/horror kick.

Biogenesis is hard to talk about. It's categorized as science fiction with flecks of horror, but I found the stories to be more . . . hauntingly elegiac. If you're looking for fucked up gore or a bloodbath, this book isn't for you. Ishiguro's writing range is pretty narrow, but he knows what he likes and he sticks with it. All stories revolve around the theme of quiet extinction, -- of entire species and their hidden biological secrets vanishing under the radar and leaving nothing but dissatisfaction with our all-too-real inability to know everything about this weird, eerie world. Science is meant to explain the unexplainable; people put a lot of faith in its empiricism and objectivity, often associating its practice with progress and advancement, but Ishiguro's more interested in the darker, more ephemerally tragic side of biology. Not in the inspiring "eureka!" breakthroughs, but in those colossally meaningless moments where you're all alone in a laboratory witnessing the death of the very, very last of an animal's kind and you can do absolutely nothing to save it. As many reviewers have already noted, there's an echo of melancholy that pervades all four stories, making them all feel personal and organic in spite of their very, very dry, formulaic delivery.

I've read (and have had to edit) a good deal of research papers and peer-reviewed articles, so I didn't struggle with keeping up with Ishiguro's more scientific prose. Yes, some sections are pretty nonsensical and made my copyediting brain convulse with the need to mark up the page with notes like, "Awkward phrasing" or "Vague. Expand." But then again that's just how STEM majors write, so it added an element of authenticity to the stories that I, as an academic who has done research and am all too familiar with this type of stuffy scholastic language, appreciated. However, I will fully admit I'm not skillful enough to convey what makes the book so special. I don't have the biological vocabulary or theoretical literary capacity to really discuss what Ishiguro's doing here. He's clearly drawing attention to themes of indigeneity and Japan's native wildlife + environment, but I'm simply just not educated enough to delve deeper into it.

I found the first story a bit boring and unsatisfactory. “It is with the Deepest Sincerity that I Offer Prayers . . .” was dull in spite of its very interesting title. I was sad about the winged mice's extinction, of course, but that "report" was long and rambling. I found myself shipping Dr. Akedera and Sakakibara by the end of it too -- you cannot tell me that there was some sexual tension between them in that story. Their "professional relationship" as joint researchers on this big rescue project directly paralleled with the winged mice's mating "efforts." Perfect sense that their partnership pretty much just amounted to a dead, squeaking mouse fetus. Lots to unpack there.

In terms of premise, my favorite short story was "Snow Woman." It blended traditional myth (the classic spirit/yōkai figure Yuki-onna, literally "snow woman," in Japanese folklore) with the cold sterility of Imperial Japanese Army medicine. "Midwinter Weed" was very entertaining and kooky; I love plant-based horror. The last story “The Hope Shore Sea Squirt” felt too out-of-pocket and unbelievable (no way an everyday lawyer could just DIY himself an expertise on cancer), so I didn't really take it that seriously. Overall, I'd say Biogenesis is a good collection of sci-fi stories that'll keep you entertained whilst also leaving you with a lingering feeling of loss over how life is death, death is life; we die so our children may be born so we, in turn, are born to die.

[David Cain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book, all 3 stories leave you unfulfilled, this is not a criticism as I believe this is intended but I still wanted to be taken to completion.

[Kate Serebro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the first story a bit boring and unsatisfactory in the conclusion, but the other three completely blew me away. I’m not particularly into sci-fi, but this was such an amazing read for me.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that caught me by surprise with how good it was. All the stories share a common thread and despite the narration always taking a tone of scientific reports or objective description, the author still manages to create an interesting, thoughtful mood. Maybe it's the fact that all stories revolve around the theme of extinction, but there's a note of melancholy that makes it feel curiously personal.

[Tatsuaki Ishiguro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you very much for many excellent reviews. I enjoyed every comment.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short fiction written in the style of investigative reports, with a common theme of medical science and dark “forgotten” mysteries. Very unique style. The stories all had a sad/sweet/dark/depressing atmosphere to them.

“The extinction of the winged mouse that cried tears of clear blood”. The hypothermic snow woman who propagated her clan by mating with and then killing her own brother. The man who causes the extinction of an entire species of “sea squirts” to save his daughter dying of cancer (and then dies of cancer himself). The eerie radioactive “midwinter weed” that feeds off human blood and corpses.

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enthralled with all four stories in Biogenesis. Ishiguro presents and interweaves humanity, science, technology, and empiricism fluidly to create complex stories of fictitious scientific enigmas that revolve around exploring extinction and mortality. Our moral concept is flawed and evidently ridden by ignorance and desire for absolute truth. Humanity’s distance from true observation and the unknown disincentivizes innovation and connection across all living kingdoms. From fabled winged-mice, to blood-thirsty, radioactive weeds, and rare, geo-specific marine medicines, Biogenesis plays with science in an imaginative way that fuels the potentiality of the world.

[Adán · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro está clasificado como horror, y no es una clasificación errónea, pero habría que señalar que el horror está bastante de fondo, más por las implicaciones del texto (todas las historias están conectadas por una temática de extinción de especies, lo cual se presta a horror existencial) que por presencia directa. Aunque la segunda y la tercera historia sí son más obvias (aunque tampoco explícitas) en sus componentes de terror, y me gustan más por ello.

[Geoffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of four short stories by Tatsuaki Ishiguro, science fiction by way of clinical reports. The first of these "It is with the Deepest Sincerity that I Offer Prayers..." is genuinely inspired. Though the second half lacks the inventive snap, it did leave me hopeful that more of Ishiguro's output would recieve English translations.

[ポピ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Winged Mouse - 1.5/5
Snow Woman - 2.25/5
Midwinter Weed - 3/5
The Hope Shore Sea Squirt - 3/5

This book is extremely science heavy. If you like science, you'll like this book. If not, it'll be long and hard to power through

Score - 2.5 overall

[Pete Majarich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover matches the content. Delicate tales of lives torn apart by chaos with people trying to piece them back together like little shards of glass. So good.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting short read for those who like science

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF (based on my earlier status update). Didn’t get past the first story. Really wanted to like it but just couldn’t.

[World Literature Today]

"This first English translation of Tatsuaki Ishiguro’s metafictions comprises four stories about the last specimens of exceedingly rare, geographically isolated species facing extinction. Like the best speculative fiction, this volume stirs thoughts of man, nature, and life itself as it links procreation, evolution, and the life cycle. Certain themes pervade these tales: evolution as random; birth and death united in the reproductive act (e.g., AIDS as metaphor in the first story); overpopulation and eventual extinction from evolutionary success; the death-in-life of longevity without memory or action; the unintended consequences of human intervention; man’s own vulnerability as natural organism. Indeed, as the self-appointed preservers fight desperately to keep their specimens from annihilation, impelled by the “self-centered logic of the living” and a “fear of death,” they glimpse in their subjects’ impending extinction the end of self and species." - Michele Levy

This book was reviewed in the January 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story, "It is with the Deepest Sincerity that I Offer Prayers..." is five stars. The dry, detached tone used while describing an incredible phenomena was surreal. Medical doctors investigate the strange characteristics attributed to a winged mouse: tales of the mice glowing at night, or crying blood. As the investigation progresses additional details make the case even more eerie and fantastic.

Horror movies use close shots to force the viewer's attention on the scary stuff. Biogenesis describes its grisly investigation in the measured tone of a standard medical procedure and allows the chilling "facts" to carry the reader's interest through to the prognosis. It's a very unusual way of writing science fiction and Ishiguro makes good use of medical training to bring something new and interesting to the genre.

I did feel like the second half of the book were variations on a theme: a procedural on a plant, another on a human, a final one carried out by an amateur. I will read more Ishiguro in the future if he can keep the style and shake up the subject matter a little bit.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book not realizing that it was a book of short stories; I thought it was a continuous narrative told through multiple accounts, and read it as such. This probably impacts my overall impression of the book. The stories here are interesting and somewhat unique in their technical style, but overall create an impression of sameness; the same basic story told through (slightly) different lenses. Again, my way of reading straight through probably helped to foster this impression.

Worth reading if you're interested in historical medical research and mystery-solving. Nothing mindblowing, but the straightforward, matter-of-fact writing helps it to move along quickly and the medical/scientific jargon never bogs it down.

[Victor Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book of short stories by accident while browsing some new books mentioned on the NY Public Library site. I mistook Tatsuaki Ishiguro for his much better known countryman, Kazuo Ishiguro. The stories in Biogenesis are well worth reading, however, and I am pleased with my mistake. The first story is a little slow starting but worth the effort. I also like the author's statement about publishing in English:
"Though I wrote the stories in Japanese, they inhabit a space that could not be further removed from Japanese literature, which is obsessed with style; they are denizens of the anglophone sphere, likely the most amenable to describing science."

[M. Pierce Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

On top of being dry, relentlessly procedural, riddled with medical jargon these stories are, overall, unbelievably bleak. This book isn't fun,- it is studies of four fictional extinctions, which, through the academic tone, don't really feel like fiction - however, the overall abrasiveness of the stories allows the reader a harsh view of mortality, desire, scarcity, ethics, faith and redemption in subtle and unexpected ways. This book will only work for you as hard as you're willing to work for it.

[Chris Haggqvist · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is written in the form of scientific reports, a form which I thought would lose its novelty quickly, but in fact sustained the stories beautifully. I am actually having withdrawal from this book, as I know of no other like it. It's Borgesian in execution, but its novel form makes it unique. If anyone knows any other book anything like this, please please please send it my way immediately. I'm dying here!

[Dominic · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may be a great book to some but not for me. I didn't like the writing style. It was so dry. Even the stories that were not written in "science journal" style were tough to read through. The stories themselves were not bad but not traditional science fiction. It was an interesting read. It just wasn't that enjoyable for me.

[Sae-chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really is a new genre. A fusion of cold science and passionate human heart.

First I thought I liked the sea squirt story the least, but interestingly, that sentence near the end of the story kept echoing in my mind: a man that saved his own daughter but no one else. Isn't that what we all are?

[Marika C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of 4 odd SF stories. 'It is with the Deepest Sincerity that I Offer Prayers…' about the extinction of the winged mouse - written as a scientific report - is bonkers but weirdly moving.

[Jenny Wiseman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent weird fiction. The scientific tone makes the eerie parts feel all the stranger. Trying to find the patterns across all four short stories was also entertaining.