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Bee Honey
8 pages, Unknown Binding
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 19, 2021
[updated from 3 to 4 stars]
my goodness. This was amazing?? In Murakami’s introduction he talks about how simple the story is yet how persuasive (I believe that’s the word he uses) the general way the author tells the tale is and I can only agree [quote: ‘the author’s quiet, matter-of-fact sensibility can be strangely persuasive’]. I really liked how our character here looked on at all the others in the world (or in the square in this case specifically) and became renewed and gained more from looking at life in a different way. I also think I gained a lot from it because in my current life I am at a standstill sort of, which is something that our character touches on vaguely here too. Really intrigued to read more of Yoshimoto’s works because this was wonderful.
my goodness. This was amazing?? In Murakami’s introduction he talks about how simple the story is yet how persuasive (I believe that’s the word he uses) the general way the author tells the tale is and I can only agree [quote: ‘the author’s quiet, matter-of-fact sensibility can be strangely persuasive’]. I really liked how our character here looked on at all the others in the world (or in the square in this case specifically) and became renewed and gained more from looking at life in a different way. I also think I gained a lot from it because in my current life I am at a standstill sort of, which is something that our character touches on vaguely here too. Really intrigued to read more of Yoshimoto’s works because this was wonderful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2021
I felt this would work better as a chapter of a book rather than a stand alone short story. Argentina's "Dirty War" as a analogy to the protagonist's unmooring was a little upsetting to me. It's not that I don't believe the personal and political aren't enmeshed with each other, but Yamamoto's approach and execution felt a little careless. Interestingly enough, the one passage that did move me was when the protagonist wrote from the Argentinean mother's perspective - this line especially: "To his mother, he looks the same as he always has, ever since he was a boy. That look is where all her memories reside - it's only natural." It gave me whiplash to compare the two differing perspectives.
And also, I'm sorry, the line: "I saw a movie about it once" makes me guffaw - not because the history is in any way comical, but at the absurd notion that in response to someone communicating their trauma to you while a group of people mourn and protest due to the same trauma, someone would say "I saw a movie about it once." I dunno.
I say once again: the personal and political are intertwined, and I'm sure that a writer could convey the theme of motherhood to talk about the personal and the political, but in this instance it does feel like she's using this historical trauma as a conduit to her own pain.
And also, I'm sorry, the line: "I saw a movie about it once" makes me guffaw - not because the history is in any way comical, but at the absurd notion that in response to someone communicating their trauma to you while a group of people mourn and protest due to the same trauma, someone would say "I saw a movie about it once." I dunno.
I say once again: the personal and political are intertwined, and I'm sure that a writer could convey the theme of motherhood to talk about the personal and the political, but in this instance it does feel like she's using this historical trauma as a conduit to her own pain.
May 4, 2024
Not your typical Banana Yoshimoto story. This was more like an excerpt from a Travel diary with some personal reflections on one's life.
3.5 stars.
https://4201mass.blogspot.com/
3.5 stars.
https://4201mass.blogspot.com/
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews