愛書家クラブ

Kafka - As I stated in my earlier review of part 1 of 6, From the New World is presented to us as a memoir, a cautionary tale from the 'new world' to an even newer world and an investigation of a past now lost — all at the same time. Now I would also describe it as a rich metaphorical painting of society, but this author's world is filtered through Saki, a more conservative narrator, so the metaphors don't feel as forced as they would be fed to us directly. The unsettling atmosphere that ties this world and Saki's worldview as she becomes forced to challenge it is this novel's best asset. It's the main reason I wasn't able to put the book down for long. However, I do not mean to say that the plot itself isn't full of suspense and intrigue. The plot goes back and forth between mystery and action, and unlike many stories today, very many people die. There are no guarantees. The only ones you can be sure live to see the end are the narrator, an...

I started reading 異世界のんびり農家 in February  and after the first 100 pages, knew I wasn't going to enjoy this book. This is an isekai narrative. A story about a middle-aged man who dies in our world from a long-term illness. He is then reincarnated by a god into a younger, stronger body with all the knowledge he had from his previous life, but in a fantasy world. From the start god gives him everything he wishes for and keeps persistently asking him if he wants more. He's given a younger body that will never get sick and a magical hoe that can transform into any  farming tool. He's then put into the middle of nowhere and had to create a farm from scratch. You would think this would be a great premise. Put out into the wilderness, having to fend for himself and working out how farming works from scratch. But with his tool and new body he doesn't get tired. When he builds fields the next day god fills them with seeds, so he doesn't have to look for them. When ...

Jenn - To say the market is saturated in 異世界 narratives is an understatement. There are so many of them in Japan that Kodansha had to ban them from their yearly novel contest in 2017 . But I still love them all the same! When I saw this in the book shop I just really, really wanted to read it. Weirdly enough I love farming narratives. Stories like のうりん and 銀の匙 are great at scratching this itch I sometimes get for farming stories. It might be because I grew up in the rolling countryside of the UK. Or because I went to work on farms in Japan for a few months the first time I ever went to Japan. So there's a lot of nostalgia factor for me. Or just because I'm really weird. Either way, I was really excited to read this book! But then I started reading it and it's... not what I excepted. I'm about 1/3 into the book and the main character is SUCH a Gary-stu. The prologue has the protagonist, a man in his 40s who just died of a crippling illne...