Barzak's second novel (after the great One for Sorrow) is a profound disappointment. It is a novel in interconnected stories, with protagonists either Japanese and American. All though are equally adrift and apathetic in their existences. All are unlucky in love (one man is put in an enchanted sleep by his jealous Japanese lover) and their lives are parades of missed connections. Barzak, who started the novel while living in Japan, teaching English, seems to suggest that it is Japanese urban culture at the heart of this malaise. This suggestion is enormously problematic (especially for a white dude living there for only a short time to put forwards), and the cumulative effect of this novel is one of exhaustion and frustration.
This frustration is compounded by a weakness existing in some of Barzak's other work - mainly his stories. His symbolism is heavy-handed and laughably obvious. For example: A girl named Ai ('Love') who is looking for love in all the wrong places? Come on. ( )

Though some of the interconnected stories in this novel had interesting aspects, overall it was at best unremarkable and at worst blatantly exploitative, capitalizing on the perceived 'Otherness' of the Japanese. For someone who spent a significant amount of time there, and apparently consulted with Japanese in the process of writing, Barzak displays a shocking ignorance of the country and its inhabitants, making offensive and simply incorrect generalizations, and his shallow, exoticized portrayals of Japanese are laughable. Very disappointing. ( )

This is a beautiful book. Told in a series of interconnected short stories, mundane and fantastical events in the lives of locals and expats in Japan serve to awaken them in some way to problems/potential in their lives. It's not always explained what lesson the characters will take from what's happened, but the book seems to be about turning points rather than showing all the consequences (although it does show some). There is a strange and gentle sensibility to Barzak's writing that makes this book ease into you: a touch unsettling, a touch lovely. Definitely recommended. ( )

From the back cover:

On a train filled with quietly sleeping passengers, a young man’s life is forever altered when he is miraculously seen by a blind man. In a quiet town, an American teacher who has lost her Japanese lover to death begins to lose her own self. On a remote road amid fallow rice fields, four young friends carefully take their own lives - and in that moment they become almost as one. In a small village, a disaffected American teenager discovers compassion after a strange encounter with an enigmatic red fox, and in Tokyo, a girl named Love learned the deepest lesson about its true meaning from a coma patient lost in dreams of an affair gone wrong.

From the neon colors of Tokyo, with its game centers and karaoke bars, to the bamboo groves and hidden shrines of the countryside, these souls and others mingle, revealing a profound tale of connection - uncovering the love we share without knowing.

Wow. This is exactly the book I was looking for when I picked it up. This really is an unbelievably beautiful tale of the connections between people and how all of our stories intertwine in the most meaningful of ways, while invoking Japanese culture with which I was unfamiliar but which suits these quiet stories perfectly. It’s almost like an interconnected book of short stories in which each builds upon the next, returning to some characters and not others. Each strand of the novel shows us a particular aspect of love and when woven together, form a stunning tapestry and a beautiful book.

At first, I was perplexed when between chapters, the book switched narrators and from 1st to 3rd person. In the next chapter, it switched again. So it took me a little while to realize how this book was structured, and some chapters do have an adjustment period of their own. Often the connections between characters aren’t explicit and are slowly revealed through clues, which I liked a lot; a chapter halfway through the book will mention characters from the first, for example.

This book also contains a little bit of magical realism. Deceased appear as ghosts to those whom they loved. There are Japanese curses and even what seems to be a shape-shifting fox. All of it fits, though, and I found made the novel even richer with culture than it would have been otherwise.

Is this a sad novel, given that a few of the stories focus on suicide and many on death? In some ways, yes. It’s even deeper than that, though, as it shows us how many people from all different walks of life can feel the exact same thing without realizing it. That’s where the title comes in; all these people share love without knowing. I can’t say it made me sad, though. It made me thoughtful and it astonished me with its power.

I loved this book. I’m so grateful to author Christopher Barzak for sending me this copy and I sincerely hope that he gains a wider audience. This may be my favorite book so far this year. It’s one of those quietly stunning books that I fall in love with every single time. As a result, I would recommend it to everyone.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=761 ( )

The premise: this series of interconnected stories follows both Americans and the Japanese as they struggle to make sense of themselves in the world. These stories revolve around love and death, around magic and miracles, and around loneliness and identity. The author's own experiences in Japan (which are obviously not discussed in the actual book), give each story a heavier weight in realism and meaning, and the title is as poignant a title that I've ever come across. Okay, so that's not much of a premise, but what else am I going to say it's like the television show Lost without the island, the plane crash, and all the crazy conspiracy/science fiction theories? It's a tale of individuals whose lives are connected in ways they don't know and don't always discover. That's what this book is about.

My Rating

Must Have: I had far fewer issues with this book than I did Barzak's debut, One For Sorrow, and while the writing had little trouble charming me, I think what did it was something about the setting, all in Japan, and the culture that leaks through the pages allowed me to suspend disbelief more than I would have normally. The voice also sparkles with magical realism, as do some of the stories. It's just a beautiful book to read, and Barzak has earned a spot on my personal must-read list. Whatever he publishes, I'll be happy to get my hands on. His writing is quiet and beautiful, and this is a book that begs to be read more than once, over and over. Trust me, you'll want to. I wanted to as soon as I was done, and that's saying something.

The full review, which includes spoilers and cover art commentary, may be found in my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.

REVIEW: Christopher Barzak's THE LOVE WE SHARE WITHOUT KNOWING

Happy Reading! ( )