The first 80% of the book, wherein each of four chapters focuses on a difference character seeing the actions of the novel from a different perspective, lays out the central theme that seems stereotypical of Japanese society: male dominance and female subservience. The story is largely about the husband, a misogynist author who finds success when his novels are based on thinly disguised novels about his wife (his dependence upon her for his success does not diminish his misogyny), who seduces a writing student and casts her aside when she fails to inspiir3e his writing, and how the wife eventually turns the table. The setting becomes more and more surreal, with the central female character metamorphosing into a plant, then a tree, a grove, and finally a forest -- no longer confined by the walls of the house or even a single continuum of time. Gender relationships are sharply defined between husband and wife, but the distinction continues in the relationship between the husband and his first editor (a young man -- here the delineation is more class (author vs editor) than gender, but the relationship is similar) and the successor editor (a young woman). The transition to the last chapter is a bit awkward and the overall resolution is, for me, both too didactic and weak (hence the 3.5 stars). But conceptually, I like the idea behind the novel, and enjoyed the story. ( )

Appropriately enough for a novel that uses flora literally and figuratively, The Forest Brims Over is entangled in its ideas at the end. But the ideas themselves are worthy of consideration. And the novel shows just how messy it is to consider the differences between men and women, between emotions and logic, between perceptions and reality. A novel worth discussing. ( )

strange & beautiful allegory. i enjoyed the character-by-character chapters -- it was a surprising, satisfying way to unravel the mystery of Rui's transformation. I would have liked more from Rui herself. it seemed her perspective was bogged down by the mystical -- which, fair enough, she had become a forest. the story ends with Rui's return, a sorta one-to-one reversal of roles in the marriage, which was a fun ending but it almost seemed not to live up to the promise of the first three-quarters of the book.

a quick & lovely read. ( )