I'm personally more likely to pick up something if I see a mix of positive/negative reactions to it than only one or the other
oh gosh i'm exactly the same way lol. i read The Last Samurai last fall precisely because i had one friend who LOVED it and one friend who HATED it and i was like... now i gotta see what the fuss is about LOL
i'd never heard of Tim Parks before so i looked him up and... oh wow yeah he makes The Vegetarian sound very cringe haha (and the broader point about "global" "fiction" as a category is a good one). i think Kawakami is decidedly much better than that but i would be curious for your thoughts either way if/when you tackle it...!
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branchandroot
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Date: 2025-08-08 09:05 pm (UTC)oh gosh i'm exactly the same way lol. i read The Last Samurai last fall precisely because i had one friend who LOVED it and one friend who HATED it and i was like... now i gotta see what the fuss is about LOL
i'd never heard of Tim Parks before so i looked him up and... oh wow yeah he makes The Vegetarian sound very cringe haha (and the broader point about "global" "fiction" as a category is a good one). i think Kawakami is decidedly much better than that but i would be curious for your thoughts either way if/when you tackle it...!