Thought of the moment....

No matter how hard you try, you will NEVER control anyone else's attitudes, actions, or outcomes. The only person that you have the ability to directly impact is you, and it is your responsibility to learn how to do just that...to utilize the knowledge, skills, and abilities you have been given to impact the world in the most positive way that you can EVERY chance you get!



Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Lake - Banana Yoshimoto

I got the chance to read this from NetGalley

Goodreads Blurb:
A major literary sensation is back with a quietly stunning tour de force about a young woman who falls for a cult escapee.

While The Lake shows off many of the features that have made Banana Yoshimoto famous—a cast of vivid and quirky characters, simple yet nuanced prose, a tight plot with an upbeat pace—it’s also one of the most darkly mysterious books she’s ever written.
It tells the tale of a young woman who moves to Tokyo after the death of her mother, hoping to get over her grief and start a career as a graphic artist. She finds herself spending too much time staring out her window, though ... until she realizes she’s gotten used to seeing a young man across the street staring out his window, too.
They eventually embark on a hesitant romance, until she learns that he has been the victim of some form of childhood trauma. Visiting two of his friends who live a monastic life beside a beautiful lake, she begins to piece together a series of clues that lead her to suspect his experience may have had something to do with a bizarre religious cult. . . .
With its echoes of the infamous, real-life Aum Shinrikyo cult (the group that released poison gas in the Tokyo subway system), The Lake unfolds as the most powerful novel Banana Yoshimoto has written. And as the two young lovers overcome their troubled past to discover hope in the beautiful solitude of the lake in the country- side, it’s also one of her most moving.

What I thought:
The LakeThe Lake by Banana Yoshimoto

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Chihiro becomes distant from her father and sees her dead mother. She is very much and introvert and loves watching out her window until she finds that she is has something in common with another neighbor in the apartment complex who window watches as well.



Chihiro befriends her window watching neighbor Nakajima and begins an intimate relationship but doesn't know how much of a commitment either one can have. Nakajima has some traumatic past experience that Chihiro is trying to figure out.



It took me awhile to get into this book. It was a good read but it didn't have me right away.



View all my reviews

6 comments:

Catherine Stine said...

I like the idea of a Tokyo setting--seems fresh. Also, having a character who may be the victim of a cult is interesting.

Anonymous said...

It's tough when a book doesn't pull you in right away. Do you keep reading or do you give up???? LOL! I recently read a book that took me 98 pages before I got "hooked." Geez. Now I gotta finish it cause I'm all like committed and stuff. ;)

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

It definitely sounds interesting. Very different.

I of course prefer books that nab me right away too!

Carol Riggs said...

Thanks for the review!! I think it's interesting how book write-ups are all things like "tight plot and upbeat pace" and then when real people (LOL) read it, they don't always have that experience. Makes me wonder what kind of reviews my own books will have someday! Will be amusing, I'm sure.

ali cross said...

Thanks Regina! It's good to know that if I read this I should give it a bit of time. Thanks!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for the honest review.

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