This selection of readings was really thought provoking. I really appreciated the themes in these stories and it was interesting to see how societal ideas are very similar here and in Japan. The stories touched on loneliness, mental health, and many of them had a particular emphasis on "politeness" and this idea of keeping up appearances. Three of the stories specifically mention smiling as a mask or act, and that showing your true emotions is in some way rude or unseemly. It was a big focus in Full of Malice, and it was also mentioned in a line in both The Hole and I Want To Kick You In The Back. The relation between putting on an act and pretending to fit in and feeling alienated or othered seems to be very common. I know I can relate, so seeing it depicted in such a range of ways was really interesting. Each individual story seemed to touch upon a specific facet of society that deals with interpersonal hardships that relate to otherness. Full of Malice seemed to talk about mental illness, shame, guilt, and fear that comes with it, especially in a society that would rather lock up people deemed "out of the norm" than confront it head on and try to understand it. It was a very difficult read. I have read Terminal Boredom by the same author, and her writing is so interesting. I do know that the author died by suicide, and that also makes the read of it more harrowing since she had likely been struggling throughout her time writing.
The Hole was so strange and interesting, and for some reason I was so nervous reading it. Especially the interactions with the mother-in-law made me so stressed out! Everything with the hole and the black animal was very odd, I am looking forward to talking about it in class. I also noticed there were a couple mentions of Asa seeing seeing a glimpse of something and then it disappearing, so I wonder what that's about. I'm really intrigued and would love to read the rest of it so I can know what happens.
I really enjoyed People Who Talk To Stuffed Animals Are Nice. I think the premise is very fun and easy to read, and I especially like the protagonist, Nanamori. His ideas are so interesting- I think the character is very relatable and I'd love to hear what other people thought. I think the discussions about gender and romance are so relevant to today's times. The line on pg 51: "While it was fun to talk about those things, it was also exhausting--because at times, you ended up conscious of turning people (and being turned) into something consumable." really really struck me. I think especially now society has a disproportionate focus and weight of romantic relationships vs. friendships/partnerships. It is something I have thought a lot about so I want to hear what other people think as well.
I will be honest, aside from the format of it being twelve short paragraphs that contain a small story or beginnings of a story, I did not understand much of Twelve Twitter Stories.
This was a really great group of readings, I am looking forward to discussing in class. Also, I will bring the book Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki to class in case anyone is interested!
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