Specs
Reviews
(3.72/5)Accessible, yet eloquent philosophical journey
The first Japanese novel I ever read, perhaps a bit too early, of which a lot was still hazy and confusing but I generally understood the core of the plot of. A mailman is about to die of a terminal disease, but makes a deal with the devil to erase one thing from the world each day to expand his lifespan by one day. The book has heavy philosophical undertones, focusing on necessity, desire, morality and life, while using a style of concise and simple writing that makes it much more accessible to
90% angsty stream of consciousness
I was excited for a thoughtful exploration of the value of a single day of life. I was looking forward to satisfying character growth as the main character saw the implications of his choices unfold for the rest of the world. But I was disappointed.
Probably 90% of this book consists of the main character just thinking. Lots of philosophizing, some narrative as he recalls past events. If you're hearing this much of someone's thoughts, you want to like them or at least find them interesting. Un
Very good story with a slight Faust flair
The book is about a postman who finds out that he will die of brain cancer. The devil appears and suggests a deal: For each extra day to live, an item from earth has to disappear (the devil will pick it of course). The postman agrees and starts thinking each day about the impact of the disappearance of simple things such as telephones or clocks.
At first, the story reminded me of Faust - but only because of the deal with the devil. The story went on quite differently. The book made me reflect a
Not what I expected
The story of a terminally ill man who makes a deal with the devil: For every one thing he agrees to make disappear from the world he will be granted one extra day of life ...
- Entertainment: Based on the description I expected some pointed commentary on things in our lives that we take for granted but couldn't live without. Maybe even some humor about how strange the world would be if everyday items disappeared from it. Instead, the author basically ignores this aspect entirely and only uses t
Interesting philosophical ideas, realistic people, but for me a dull read.
This book isn't for everybody, that's for sure. The plot is, at first, basic. A man finds out he's going to die, and the devil shows up to make a deal. Per thing that vanishes from the world, the man gets one extra day in his life.
The story has the potential to evoke some very captivating thoughts, about how the world or humanity would change if some things would vanish. The protagonist acts realistically in the given context and it feels natural, how the story evolves.
In the end, I enjoyed
I listened to the audiobook version of this - it was well produced and I recommend it. There is also a movie based on this book, which I have not seen but the trailers suggest it will make you cry buckets.
EDIT: I have watched the movie and it differs enough from the book that I didn't really enjoy it that much. It also lost pretty much all the light hearted elements like the cat talking and the majority of the scenes with the devil.
Basic plot: A man finds out he's going t
Good practice but dear lord
God where to start. It started off with a decent premise but it ended up being one of the worst books I ever read. It felt so trite and forcedly sentimental with flashbacks all over and the protagonist remembering sentences that were literally shared one scene ago making question what attention span the author thinks I have.
The only reason kept reading because I was curious how much worse it could get. And I have to say there were parts in between where I started hoping again that it can have