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Book Review: "Terminal Boredom" by Izumi Suzuki

5/5 - sci-fi stories from the dark side of Japanese Literature...

By Annie KapurPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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When it comes to the Japanese short story, there are many authors that you could mention with books that are clearly some of the best of all time because of their efforts to twist the old traditions on to their heads to create something entirely new and original. One of these is Yoko Ogawa’s “Revenge” in which several stories are linked together by simple symbols, characters or minor events. Then there is “People From My Neighbourhood” by Hiromi Kawakami who has a similar concept in which the character goes through various people who live in their neighbourhood of interest. Each character is connected to another but not necessarily in order of how they are placed in the book. I think though, that this one entitled “Terminal Boredom” by Izumi Suzuki is slightly different yet again in that it plays on the concept of sci-fi to the point that it is a strange, twisted and darkly comic piece of satire in which we internationally recognise. There are so many genres going on at the same time that it is very difficult to pin-point one that is explored completely.

For example: the story “Women and Women” explores a world not without men, but in which the only men in the world are kept in captivity that is worse than prison in order to teach them to be apathetic and subservient so that when the women come to view them, they are paraded around like zoo animals in unnatural habitats. When one deflector kisses a man, her grandmother reprimands her and tells her where her parents are and why she will probably never see her mother again. Women are taught that if they want children then all they have to do is buy the requirements from the bank in the ‘prison’ in which the men are kept. But they will only have relationships with women. So, being ‘heterosexual’ is made pretty much illegal. It is a brilliant critique of the treatment of LGBTQA+ people throughout history by turning the entire thing on its head. It is also a social critique of the historical treatment of women and the ideas and opinions surrounding abortion. I think the depth is absolutely amazing and that is only one of the stories in this collection.

“Once you’re above a certain age, if you decide you want kids, you go to the hospital. Even if you’re unmarried, it’s fine as long as you can raise them. They probably inject you with some medicine or something.

‘You’re not going to look for a job?’

‘I’m not cut out for it,’ Rei replied shamelessly. ‘Even if this doesn’t work out, I’ll just find an arranged marriage.’ Rei has a pretty face and pale skin, giving her good reason to be confident of finding someone to support her. Long ago, it was normal for the men to work while the women took care of the household chores, and that arrangement hasn’t really changed – all that’s new is that it’s the more masculine woman who goes to work, while the more feminine partner takes care of the sundry other tasks at home.”

The writing style is brilliant and gives way to the great amount of depth via its treatment of vast concept through the genre of sci-fi in order to make sure it is understood as part of the world in which the story is set. It is believable and I think the author has really worked in all the possible critiques of the subject they possibly could into the story at hand. It is a brilliant work, subversive and dark - it is set to become a modern classic in future generations.

literature
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About the Creator

Annie Kapur

190K+ Reads on Vocal.

English Lecturer

🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)

🎓Film & Writing (M.A)

🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)

📍Birmingham, UK

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