Project Kaisei

Rating:
Summary: A good story, but poorly written.
Review: The reviews for this book here as well as on some English language Japanese news sites were universally enthusiastic, and I ordered it without hesitation. It was a great story with believable events in a realistic world but it faltered rather seriously in its presentation. Michiro Naito writes as someone who knows English very well, but does not feel it. The writing doesn't flow, and instead proceeds haltingly with too much attention to the wrong details. The story is exposed by characters knowing exactly what's going on and the reader is never left to wonder about motivation. Characters talk of falling in love, of feeling fear, of distrust, but the reader is never allowed to develop their own opinions. In addition, too many things are spelled out in excruciating detail, addresses are listed in full, train timetables are unecessarily included, and much of the writing seems amateurish. A quote: "That's self-indulgence if you ask me. I don't indulge myself like that. There's a fine line between self indulgence and strong will." I read the whole thing in two sessions, but spent a lot of time wincing at the sloppy writing, and skipping entire paragraphs of unecessary detail.