妄想银行

by Shinichi Hoshi, 星新一

星新一著的《妄想银行/星新一少年科幻》讲述：有一家神奇的银行，经营的业务是“妄想”。拥有某种妄想的人只要走进这家银行，妄想就会消失，然后银行会将此妄想制成胶囊，出售给想要拥有此妄想的人。妄想银行的存在，引发了各路媒体和路人的猎奇心理。无数人乔装打扮成顾客登门打探，很后都无功而返。究竟是什么装备如此神秘？妄想银行还能继续营业吗？

170 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)