Idoru - William Gibson

 

56%

15.11.21

Beautifully written, creatively imagined and surprisingly boring cyberpunk.

So boring, in fact, that I have absolutely zero recollection of having read it before.

The Fine Art of Invisible Detection - Robert Goddard

 

55%

21.06.21

Goddard must have read my review of Into the Blue, as this recent 'thriller' replaces the middle-aged white male main character with a middle-aged Japanese female main character. Who was really only differentiated from all the middle-aged white male secondary characters by her clipped way of speaking and no-nonsense manner. Because she's, like, Japanese, you know. But it was much more tedious than you'd expect of a globe-trotting detective adventure.

Strange Weather in Tokyo - Hiromi Kawakami

63%
14.05.17

Popular on Netflix at the moment are gentle Japanese dramas focusing on bar and restaurant culture. This fits in very well with that genre - two lonely people gradually become closer as they drink sake and enjoy various dishes together. A little spice is added by protaganist making no excuse for being rather contrary and difficult, and the plot unfolding through a series of slightly disjointed vignettes - the story rings a little truer as a result.

Angry White Pyjamas - Robert Twigger

65%
12.02.15

I really enjoyed this, which is odd considering it's a badly structured, typo-strewn autobiographical account of a masochistic macho martial arts course taken 20 years ago. But it was intriguing because it was different and an insight into the lives others choose to lead.