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The Premonition
- A Novel
- De: Banana Yoshimoto
- Narrado por: Kathleen Li
- Duración: 3 h y 29 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 13
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Narración:4 out of 5 stars 12
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 12
Yayoi, a nineteen-year-old woman from a seemingly loving middle-class family, has lately been haunted by the feeling that she has forgotten something important from her childhood. Her premonition grows stronger day by day and, as if led by it, she decides to move in with her mysterious aunt, Yukino.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Do not recommend
- De LS en 09-24-24
- The Premonition
- A Novel
- De: Banana Yoshimoto
- Narrado por: Kathleen Li
A dreamworld that wasn’t meant to be.
Revisado: 02-13-24
Banana Yoshimoto’s lyrical, poetic writing would usually be enough to transport anyone to a gauzy, mysterious Japan, tiptoeing towards the financial strife of the 90s not fully realizing the fever dream of the bubble era was coming to an end. This should have been a magical work, but I’m sad to say it fell far short of my expectations, The English translation was satisfactory, if unremarkable. The main problem is the performer. Mrs. Li, while no doubt talented, was a baffling choice for this piece. Yayoi is a budding clairvoyant savant, blossoming into womanhood under the most peculiar of circumstances, and why Mrs. Li chose to read her like a valley girl trying to cover up a smoking habit was vexing from the first moment to the last. There was so much space to give life to the mystery of Yoshimoto’s prose, but it was repeatedly trampled by the performer’s insistence on raising her voice at the end of every quote, and a gravelly, unappealing cadence through all the narration. Yoshimoto’s dream world was a bubble that was popped thoughtlessly from the first page. I first read this 10 years ago in Italian as “presagio triste” and I’m embarrassed to say I scarcely remember it because it was such a milky and forlorn experience it was like dreaming while awake. As I recall it won several awards, and yet I’m afraid between the “good enough” English translation and this abysmal performance, it will not garner similar acclaim. It’s tragic… I’ve read parts of it in Japanese, and in Italian, and in those languages it floats majestically like a jellyfish in the sea. This translation and performance make this lovely gem of a book appear like a jellyfish washed up on the shore, squished into an unremarkable oblivion.
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Klara and the Sun
- A Novel
- De: Kazuo Ishiguro
- Narrado por: Sura Siu
- Duración: 10 h y 16 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 10,242
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 8,762
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 8,731
Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: What does it mean to love?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well Worth Having Waited For!
- De otherdeb en 03-04-21
- Klara and the Sun
- A Novel
- De: Kazuo Ishiguro
- Narrado por: Sura Siu
Beautiful Allegory
Revisado: 03-24-21
I absolutely loved this book. It is a thoughtful meditation on the nature of humanity, and it is as warm and inviting as it is fraught with dystopian undertones. The theme of an android reverting to shamanistic practices was especially intriguing, inviting the reader to consider that even a living computer might need to rely on the natural world and its mysteries to cope with the painful complexities of existence that are as tragically beautiful as they are inscrutable. Ishiguro’s Japanese cultural influence radiates throughout this book, and some light study into the native religions of Japan beforehand would help underscore some important themes, I think. To me, this is a masterpiece among contemporary literature because it explores ideas that are as timely as they are nuanced. With the upcoming advent of AI, amongst other new technologies, we must begin to consider our relationship to both the technology itself and to ourselves, and this book somehow manages to be detached without ever being cold, making the android protagonist the most endearing character of them all. The result is a highly readable book about some of modern life’s most vexing philosophical questions.
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