Capn’s Reviews > Catfish Rolling > Status Update
Capn
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I've given this novel side-eye ever since I read the term "magical realism". I don't enjoy magical realism.
However, I am quickly beginning to suspect that the term "low fantasy" has largely been subsumed by "magical realism" - case in point, I don't think this is magical realism. The world was normal, something cataclysmic happens, weirdness begins. That's low fantasy, isn't it? We started with normal.
Am I right?
— Feb 28, 2026 10:25AM
However, I am quickly beginning to suspect that the term "low fantasy" has largely been subsumed by "magical realism" - case in point, I don't think this is magical realism. The world was normal, something cataclysmic happens, weirdness begins. That's low fantasy, isn't it? We started with normal.
Am I right?
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Capn
is on page 278 of 432
Wondering about book length publishing trends in the juvenile market over time. I read a lot of old books (1980s and earlier), and I'm convinced that MG and YA books have gotten chonkier over time. I have the same complaint about them all - they could certainly be pared down, and most are stuffed with filler.
This has enjoyable filler, but I feel it could have been meaner and leaner and really packed a wallop.
— Mar 01, 2026 08:56AM
This has enjoyable filler, but I feel it could have been meaner and leaner and really packed a wallop.
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Sem
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Feb 28, 2026 10:57AM
Hm. It sounds like magical realism before the cataclysm and low fantasy afterwards.
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I think, but am only 78 pages in, that the world before "the Shake" was utterly mundane. And then the big quake hits and the time-zone-pockets erupt, and scientists the world over come to investigate, etc., no explanations are found, exclusion zones set up.Meanwhile, our bereft protagonist is sneaking through the boundaries and is discovering that it's not just time that differs in these pockets...
I dunno. It's a bit dystopian sci-fi as well, I suppose. Maybe just hard to categorise.
The good news is - I don't dislike it. :)
Capn wrote: "I think, but am only 78 pages in, that the world before "the Shake" was utterly mundane. And then the big quake hits and the time-zone-pockets erupt, and scientists the world over come to investiga..."Definitely a sci-fi element. The synopsis said that the protagonist hated the catfish which made it sound as if everyone accepted the existence of the catfish. That made it sound a little mr. I don't know because 'magical realism' is an overused term now and means almost anything. I tried and didn't much like her other book so I await your review with interest.
Totally agree that "magical realism" is overused. I definitely dislike the original definition of it. I have One Hundred Years of Solitude on my shelf, and one of my best friends said, "Oh, you'll hate it." XD So there it sits, for now.Yes, you're right about the catfish synopsis. I didn't like the sound of that, either. In the actual book, however, she first hears the "story" about the giant catfish, from a old lady sleeping next to her at the emergency shelter at the school gym. Her father's a physicist and doesn't believe in anything remotely supernatural. Sora seems more open-minded, but even she seems derisive. She declares that she hates the catfish. She's just lost her mum and granddad to it. The loss is all she cares about.
Only about 40% through, but I suspect that as the weirdness of the zones increases, the possibility that the obaachan's catfish pourquoi story is somehow real will increase.
It feels 'low fantasy' to me. :) So far I like it. Not love, but def like.
The Obaachan calls it the 'namazu'. Internet says: Namazu is a giant catfish in Japanese mythology, believed to reside in the mud beneath the earth and cause earthquakes by thrashing its tail. Controlled by the god Takemikazuchi with a "foundation stone" (kaname-ishi) at Kashima Shrine, Namazu causes tremors when the god lets his guard down.
It feels like the usual MG/YA "the ancient legends ARE real?!" trajectory. My fav. :)
Capn wrote: "Totally agree that "magical realism" is overused. I definitely dislike the original definition of it. I have One Hundred Years of Solitude on my shelf, and one of my best friends said, "Oh, you'll ..."The emergency shelter at the gym... Hm. It sounds as if she ripped off 'The House of the Lost on the Cape' here and there.
Oh man, I forgot about that book! I MUST read it - it sounds more like what I want to read! :DI never appreciate "YA". It's like they take a ripping MG yarn, but take out all the good imaginative bits to add in awkward teenager sexual content and self-absorption. I never want to read about that. Give me WEIRD SH*T and not more of the 'reality bites' content. I get enough of awkward IRL, thanks so much. :p
Capn wrote: "Oh man, I forgot about that book! I MUST read it - it sounds more like what I want to read! :DI never appreciate "YA". It's like they take a ripping MG yarn, but take out all the good imaginative..."
That's mainly why I decided not to read this author's other book. I don't want to read about that either (and wouldn't have when I was a teen). 'The House of the Lost on the Cape' has a ton of low fantasy and it's just...nice.
I have definitely purchased it within yhe past 30 min. Thanks, Sem. :) Excited for it!
Capn wrote: "I have definitely purchased it within yhe past 30 min. Thanks, Sem. :) Excited for it!"You liked another book by Kashiwaba so it's probably a safe purchase. :)
I ordered the Village in the Mist one too, while I was at. Leapt to the same conclusion. :)
