grahamthebookman

Great story, but Crawford isn’t an actor

Revisado: 04-25-24

I loved the translation, its thoroughness, and how Crawford did a fantastic job with his scholarly introduction. However, he should have read the introduction and let a more seasoned performer read the poems. He could have served as an advisor to the actor. The poems in the “Edda” should be performed, and Jackson isn’t an actor. He tends to drone on in a monotone way of speaking that made some parts harder to get through, but I still think its a worthwhile read!

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Incredible and not drawn out

Revisado: 04-18-24

The professor gave an excellent performance and a vivid and balanced approach to the content. I came in knowing little about the conquest and left feeling enlightened and entertained.

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Excellent but abridged, also lacks the introduction

Revisado: 03-31-24

I loved the narration; I read along with the physical copy of the book and had to skip around sometimes since it cut out certain parts. It was still well worth it; the author is so soothing to listen to that I was sad when it was over

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A must-read or re-read during this pandemic

Revisado: 01-06-23

Thought-provoking and full of poignant, the book takes on new and deeper dimensions in the era of COVID-19.

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Amazing, just amazing

Revisado: 12-04-22

I think this book should be mandatory reading for anyone but especially white people like myself. I went through a roller coaster of emotion for Justyce and Manny. I found myself punching the desk I was sitting at in outrage over the blatant miscarriage of justice the protagonist and his friend endured. I forgot I was reading a fictional story. That's how absorbed I was, I felt changed by this book.

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I'm glad her mom died, too!

Revisado: 11-19-22

This memoir is excellent, but I struggled to give it five stars because it's so horrific what Jennette had to endure. She clearly deserves a Nobel Peace Prize because her childhood would make anyone think prison would be a more appealing alternative.

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I finished it in one listen!

Revisado: 10-09-22

Constance brought a world of vulnerability to life; it was triumphant to read. It is a pleasure to listen, and I finished the book in one listen, which I never do. I was genuinely moved and outraged by the injustices she faced; I have a new world of respect for her.

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Fantastic Must-Read for any Japanophile!

Revisado: 04-09-21

I've read all of Alt's work, and this is his crowning achievement of literary genius! Truly one of the most comprehensive books about Japanese pop culture on the market. I have struggled to find a book that incorporates so many of my niche interests, and Alt provides a stunning survey of phenomena we take for granted. From Pokémon to the Walkman, from toy Jeeps and trend-setting school girls trailblazing communication via the Emoji, this book offers something of interest for even readers unfamiliar with Japanese Pop-Culture! For those of us who cherish it, we can find more profound meaning and knowledge. I would give it a 10/10 if that were possible!

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Truly worth reading

Revisado: 04-04-21

If you think you like Ghibli, think again, Napier provides a unique and insightful worldview into films I felt I enjoyed but now have come to treasure on a spiritually intimate level.

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Not acceptable for scholarly research

Revisado: 03-24-21

Catrien Ross's "Haunted Japan: Exploring the World of Japanese Yokai, Ghosts and the Paranormal" is many things, but one thing it cannot be said to be is scholarly. While Catrien says she was a university lecturer, she only lists her secondary education.

I am not from the UK, but I am pretty sure that it would be extraordinary if she were a university lecturer with just a marginal degree of education; however, if she's a guest lecturer, that might explain this, given that guest lecturers don't have to have any set of specific credentials.

I would have more minor issues with Catrien if she didn't also describe herself as a "sudden genius." Catrien also claims to be a practitioner of traditional Asian medicine, which seems to be something that clouds her objectivity.

Any individual with external knowledge of Japan and the Supernatural as it pertains to Japan (albeit it an ever-shifting understanding dependent on time, place, history, and changing social, political, economic, and cultural norms) would know that much of her work is surface-level, lacking in any content worth serious discussion.

Catrien is not interested in the facts and their interpretations, nor is she willing to cite sources for anything that appears in her book, excluding illustrations. The problem is that this book lies in an ambiguous grey zone between fiction and nonfiction. If Catrien advertised the book as a spiritual /new age/ autobiography, it would be better than the grey zone in which it exists as quasi-non-fiction.

The title is somewhat misleading as well; I would have titled it "Paranormal" or "Super Natural Japan." I state this because Catrien spends more time discussing Clairvoyance, telekinesis, body energies, eastern medicine, and mysticism, while very little of the book details hauntings. Whether Catrien is unaware or is aware and chooses to ignore, much of her claims can and have been debunked by magicians like James Randi and Penn and Teller.

She could just as easily written a book about magicians in Japan with changing little of the content aside from admitting that these beliefs are more fiction than fact.

Further, Catrien makes bold claims about a song around a particular festival actually being Hebrew rather than Japanese in nature. While there is a belief among some Japanese that Jesus escaped to Japan to avoid the crucifixion, I could not find any reference to these lyrics in any credible secondary source, just a translation of the imagined lyrics. I am Jewish and had she provided these lyrics; I would have been able to tell you at the very least if they were Hebrew.

She also seems to be ignorant of what a Star of David is; I say this because she asserts that the Sawaguchi clan's emblem bears a striking resemblance to a Star of David. Aside from both symbols being stars, the similarities end there. A Star of David has six points while the Sawaguchi star has five. Unless we wish to state all stars (regardless of the number of points) have universal meanings and can be transplanted into any culture and have the same meaning, Catrien's claim seems problematic in the most polite sense of the term.

I will say that I did learn about more modern beliefs, but no context makes the Japanese in this book come off as poorly educated and superstitious. She uses the term "primitive" to describe a variety of indigenous animistic beliefs, which I feel are not exactly complimentary nor academically rigorous.

Readers less familiar with these traditions and their origins might get an extraordinary and noncomplementary view of Japan and its complex religious, philosophical, cultural, and historical past.

I give this book a 2.3/5 stars

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