Book Review: Ayako

Hello Dear Readers,

I know I promised another post sooner, but things got carried away from me, and (horror of all horrors) I've caught a cold. It's absolutely dreadful. I haven't been sick in almost 6 months, and I'm not quite sure how to handle this, considering I have a lot of work to do, and no motivation whatsoever to do it.

Thus, I decided to do this. A book review.

Ayako, by Tezuka Osamu.

I had to read this book for a class that I'm taking ("History of the Graphic Novel").

Plot Summary:

Tenge Jiro (given name: Jiro, family name: Tenge-- in Japan, the family name comes first) is returning home to Japan after World War II ended. He is an agent for one of the shadow organizations that MacArthur brought in when occupying Japan. He is ordered to kill a man (who happens to be one of his sister's boyfriend) because of his Communist Connections, and the murder is found out by his youngest sister, Ayako. In order to preserve the family's honour, Ayako is locked in a basement for 23 years and declared dead. The work gives an in-depth look at the family's horrific nature, which includes murder, incest, and betrayal. Once Ayako is able to escape from her prison, she must find her way in post-war Japan.

Thoughts:

To be honest, I was horrified by this book. It's incredibly well-written, don't get me wrong, but it's repugnant. Tezuka uses his work to deliver a powerful critique of post-war Japan and of traditional Japanese culture. By having such disgusting characters, Tezuka is able to use the baseness of the Tenge family in order to lambaste the corrupt, antiquated culture that halted development and refused to modernize. The rural setting of the majority of the book in contrast with Tokyo is meant to show that holding on to the past leads to a festering culture that is destroyed in the face of modernity. 

This book is incredibly graphic. There's a lot of nudity, there's incest, murder, violence, the whole shebang. The treatment of women is abysmal (another critique that Tezuka makes), and I was disgusted just reading it. But that's where its brilliance lies. Because it's horrifying, Tezuka's critiques are that much more poignant. That being said, if you're squeamish or don't like reading about these kind of things, I'd say stay away.

Rating:

3.5/5 Stars

(I'm a fairly squeamish person, and the violence, incest, and rape scenes really freaked me out. It's not even the nudity, it's the violence that bothers me. I'm also not a fan of the art style...)

Future Projects

Well, I've got a lot on my plate, but I'm sure that I can do something quick over the next few days. I've got a makeshift 11th Doctor costume (gender-bent, of course) that I'm planning on using as my costume for my Shakespeare final, which I'll probably upload. (Because clearly that makes sense, right? >. >)

I've got a 30 page paper due on Wednesday, so I might blog about that at some point soon. It'll be a tad boring-- I'm sorry in advance. I also might give you some updates on my thesis within the next two weeks. 

Love,

Nicolette