Bridgman reviewed The translation of love by Lynne Kutsukake
Review of 'The translation of love' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I lived in Japan for a few years some time ago, and its years under the American Occupation have always interested me. In The Translation of Love, Kutsukake depicts the era well; the duality of much of life, the rebuilding, the near starvation, the struggle to survive.
My problem with the novel was its juggling of so much and its use of short chapters to do so, which may be part of the reason people compare it to All the Light We Cannot See. For me, it just made it hard to keep track of what was going on and I forgot significant things, their trails having been dropped several chapters before.
This may be where fiction is going. Nothing you can't read between train stops or during commercials, emulating the Internet by trying to keep short attention spans focused on a site without clicking on a link …
I lived in Japan for a few years some time ago, and its years under the American Occupation have always interested me. In The Translation of Love, Kutsukake depicts the era well; the duality of much of life, the rebuilding, the near starvation, the struggle to survive.
My problem with the novel was its juggling of so much and its use of short chapters to do so, which may be part of the reason people compare it to All the Light We Cannot See. For me, it just made it hard to keep track of what was going on and I forgot significant things, their trails having been dropped several chapters before.
This may be where fiction is going. Nothing you can't read between train stops or during commercials, emulating the Internet by trying to keep short attention spans focused on a site without clicking on a link or tab that leads to a fresh topic. Too bad. Earlier today I started reading Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson (The Lottery), which was written in 1951. Listen to her description of a teenage girl in her family's suburban garden:The grass had exerted itself to be unusually green just beyond Natalie's feet, the roses were heavy and sweet and suitable for giving to any number of lovers, the sky was blue and serene, as though it had never known a tear.Maybe Kutsukake could write a sentence that good, maybe not. But if she did, it would be out of place in her mini-chapters and overpower them.