Cori H. Spenzich reviewed Kangaroo Notebook by Kobo Abe
Review of 'Kangaroo Notebook' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
"I have radish sprouts growing from the pores of my legs."
This is a story where a man goes on a ridiculous journey to address vegetables growing where he normally expected his leg hair to be. He snacks on himself throughout, seasoned with his own salty sweat. Yes, really.
From the back of the book:
"Kobo Abe's unraveling protagonist finds himself hurtling in a hospital bed to the very shores of hell. He encounters an officious child demon, a hairy American martial arts expert, and a sexy nurse who is trying to collect enough blood to win the "Dracula's Daughter" medal."
Yup.
Reading this feels much like going through the dream journal of the author, but this is Kobo Abe afterall. It should be expected. I liked this book. It is more hilarious than his other ones, and it reminded me of his book "Secret Rendevous" -- in both books, …
"I have radish sprouts growing from the pores of my legs."
This is a story where a man goes on a ridiculous journey to address vegetables growing where he normally expected his leg hair to be. He snacks on himself throughout, seasoned with his own salty sweat. Yes, really.
From the back of the book:
"Kobo Abe's unraveling protagonist finds himself hurtling in a hospital bed to the very shores of hell. He encounters an officious child demon, a hairy American martial arts expert, and a sexy nurse who is trying to collect enough blood to win the "Dracula's Daughter" medal."
Yup.
Reading this feels much like going through the dream journal of the author, but this is Kobo Abe afterall. It should be expected. I liked this book. It is more hilarious than his other ones, and it reminded me of his book "Secret Rendevous" -- in both books, the narrator goes to a hospital. Also in both, things travel into surreal weird town. Though, Kangaroo Notebook revs up that absurdity and hilarity to a much higher level -- higher than anything else by him I have read (such as "Woman in The Dunes" , "The Box Man", etc. which each have much more serious tones to them).
The name of the novel comes from the first chapter, where he suggests a new product: Kangaroo Notebook. He does it as a joke, but his company takes it seriously with a certain level of excitement. There are only a few references to the invention later, as his condition becomes highly important.
There isn't much I think I can spoil, as the journey is super weird and often completely unrelated events follow each other. But, in case one is truly worried:
SPOILER ALERT INCOMING? Maybe?
For example, the main character finds himself trying to prevent an explosion -- stronger than dynamite -- that he think will happen if two squids are to mate out of water as they emit strobing lights like beacons. Here he is fending off the female squid that is trying to mate with the male squid (the male has replaced his IV bag after a recent hospital visit, and is connected to his collarbone):
"The female organs mounted their second attack. Using my urine bag as a shield, I somehow managed to prevent the pair from making contact. Urine that had leaked from pressure began to spread out in concentric circles on my briefs. On the end of the stainless-steel pole, the male organs squealed and blew bubbles. This is too much."
If you want an absurd read, with an ending that could be a bit unsettling and dark, this is the book for you.
