Wednesday 28 August 2013

Harmony

Project Itoh, 2008 [Alexander O. Smith, 2010]
(July 2013)


Satire. And, it must be said, not particularly sharp satire, either. No scalpel here, it’s not even sledge-hammer blunt – this is a massive wrecking ball sent crashing through Japanese notions of conformity and, unsurprisingly, harmony. As it’s being aimed at a target I wholly approve of I found it all rather thrilling, in it’s own way. Nothing like an angry diatribe every once in a while to shake things up and knock them down.

The author apparently wrote this whilst receiving palliative treatment for cancer and as ways to leave this world go, it’s a pretty impressive effort.


4 comments:

  1. Huge fan of this book, but you knew that already as I keep pushing it on you.

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    1. Yeah, I can see why. It's not especially subtle, but then the obvious anger is quite bracing, all considered. Not so sure about the ending though.

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    2. I still haven't come to terms with the ending, especially as that one girl is totally going against everything she claimed to be for. I dunno, it was like getting a horse collar tackle when I read the last chapter. Other than that tho, one of my favorite books out of Japan ever.

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    3. The ending seems like the author trying to be contrary for its own sake, tbh. Throughout the protagonist (forget her name) wants to come across as angry, but just seems a little emo - your typical disaffected teenager. She could be being set up as an unreliable narrator, but I really doubt it. So the ending, kinda, ties into that selfish teenager vibe where spite is a more powerful force than any other emotion, but again that doesn't feel like such a satisfying explanation. Subtlety is not this book's strong point.

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