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Problematic Tropes but a Spooky Woods Devil!

Revisado: 12-01-23

This was easy to enjoy while at work because of the full cast narration. It makes the plot and action very clear and comprehendible. It also has a spooky vibe similar to "The Witch" folk horror movie, but unfortunately it includes many damaging tropes. It has lots of gender stereotyping, and as other reviewers pointed out, the church and its narratives are far more likely to be the evil force upon people. So, making the church and its men the good guys reenforces problematic propaganda that harms people in reality. If you're aware that this story is going to have some backwards nonsense and you're in the mood for a folk horror, you'll still like this one.

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Good Vibes, Unusual Format, A Little Bit Bland

Revisado: 07-20-23

I just wanted to listen to something with a good narration voice and "clean" story. This pretty much hit the spot. 'There's No Such Thing as An Easy Job' is overall upbeat, and no vulgarities like insults or slurs are in it. Although it includes topics like smuggling, cults, and office gossip, nothing gets deep, dark, or upsetting. The story maintains intrigue by slowly introducing subtle, possibly supernatural mysteries for the main character to investigate, but most of the text is the main character's observations. The observations are often mundane, but they immerse you into the office job boredom. If you scrutinize the text, you can pick up on details about Japanese culture, but ultimately this is a story to relax not learn from. A lot of the story's mysteries are wrapped up too simply. The main character remains measured and peaceable throughout a continued barrage of similar workdays; it is an unusual depiction. The job roles for the side characters are unfortunately stereotyped by gender, but the characterization is relatively varied and realistic and therefore inoffensive.

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Surreal Sad Lady Stories

Revisado: 04-29-19

I was super excited to hear a slice of life piece about a woman becoming obsessed with bodybuilding. Unfortunately, that story is the shortest one in this collection, and it's unsatisfactory. Although these stories portray female main characters, the characters focus heavily on their awful husbands and they don't have much personality or plot arcs outside of that aspect. Some fun, visceral, and truly bizarre scenarios are described in this collection which kept me listening, but they never have a purpose, conclusion or statement to make. It's almost like long winded poetry about sadly married and repressed women from a repressed woman's perspective. I wish more stories challenging expectations or gender roles existed. The reading voice of this book is really great however. It's soothing if you just want to zone out.

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Fun Bruce Lee Fact Snacks

Revisado: 04-01-19

Listen to this with a critical ear towards gender; Women are referenced mainly by their role in romance while male side characters' interests and personalities are more thoroughly covered. However, this book is easy to listen to in pieces, and I got a lot of fun Bruce Lee trivia out of it. Did you know that Bruce kept a punching bag in his car or that he had his sweat glands removed? Did you also know a female monk founded the style of Wing Chun which influenced Bruce's childhood martial arts training? I feel like I am a lot closer to understanding how Bruce became famous and how the popularity of Kung Fu spread in the US after listening to this. Bruce's behavior often sounds narcissistic in the narrative but it helped him get noticed in a world where race strongly affected social reactions. The audio is a little robotic but it's better than average.

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A meandering snoozeville about a boy

Revisado: 01-20-19

I can't say much about this book even though I listened to a few hours of it. The plot doesn't progress quickly enough and the characters aren't interesting. I patiently waited for some surrealism or psychological intrigue. The short story, "The Strange Library" by Murakami made me want to read more of his work, but Kafka on the Shore is nowhere near as imaginative as the short. If you want to take a nap while someone blabbles on and on about a boy going back and forth from a library, then this book is for you.

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