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Hardboiled & Hard Luck
Banana Yoshimoto’s warm, witty, and heartfelt depictions of the lives of young Japanese have earned her international acclaim and best-seller status. In Hardboiled, the unnamed narrator, hiking in the mountains on the anniversary of her ex-lover's death, is haunted by her past and learns to make peace with her loss. Hard Luck is about another young woman whose sister lies in a coma. As she prepares to say good-bye to her loved one, a new friendship promises hope. Yoshimoto’s voice is clear, assured, and deeply moving, displaying again why she is one of Japan’s, and the world’s, most beloved writers.
149 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Banana Yoshimoto
200 books7,862 followersBanana Yoshimoto (よしもと ばなな or 吉本 ばなな) is the pen name of Mahoko Yoshimoto (吉本 真秀子), a Japanese contemporary writer. She writes her name in hiragana. (See also 吉本芭娜娜 (Chinese).)
Along with having a famous father, poet Takaaki Yoshimoto, Banana's sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan. Growing up in a liberal family, she learned the value of independence from a young age.
She graduated from Nihon University's Art College, majoring in Literature. During that time, she took the pseudonym "Banana" after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous."
Despite her success, Yoshimoto remains a down-to-earth and obscure figure. Whenever she appears in public she eschews make-up and dresses simply. She keeps her personal life guarded, and reveals little about her certified Rolfing practitioner, Hiroyoshi Tahata and son (born in 2003). Instead, she talks about her writing. Each day she takes half an hour to write at her computer, and she says, "I tend to feel guilty because I write these stories almost for fun."
Along with having a famous father, poet Takaaki Yoshimoto, Banana's sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan. Growing up in a liberal family, she learned the value of independence from a young age.
She graduated from Nihon University's Art College, majoring in Literature. During that time, she took the pseudonym "Banana" after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous."
Despite her success, Yoshimoto remains a down-to-earth and obscure figure. Whenever she appears in public she eschews make-up and dresses simply. She keeps her personal life guarded, and reveals little about her certified Rolfing practitioner, Hiroyoshi Tahata and son (born in 2003). Instead, she talks about her writing. Each day she takes half an hour to write at her computer, and she says, "I tend to feel guilty because I write these stories almost for fun."
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February 22, 2022
Hādoboirudo = Hardboiled & Hard Luck, Banana Yoshimoto
This book consists of two separate stories, making up the two parts of the book's title.
The first story, Hardboiled, is written from the perspective of a woman who is hiking alone, passes a strange shrine and ends up in a hotel with a couple of surreal incidents that follow. Her back story is filled in as a mixture of narrative and dream sequences.
The second story, Hard Luck, is about a woman whose sister Kuni is in a coma. Kuni's fiancé leaves her after the incident, but his brother continues to visit. It becomes apparent that he is interested in the protagonist of the story.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و دوم ماه نوامبر سال2013میلادی
عنوان: سرسخت و کم بخت؛ نویسنده بنانا یوشیموتو؛ برگردان البرز قریب؛ نشر تهران، حرفه نویسنده، سال1390، در128ص، شابک9786006445007؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ژاپن - سده20م
کتاب از متن نسخه انگلیسی ترجمه شده دو داستان است: سرسخت؛ و کم بخت
در چگونگی دو داستان این کتاب آمده (مثل دوقلوهایی كه مسیرشان جدا میشود، این دو داستان لطیف چیزی فراتر از صدای اغوا كننده ی خالقشان را به اشتراک میگذارند...)؛
موضوع سوررئال و روایت رویاگونه ی «سرسخت»؛ آن را بیشتر شبیه به داستانهایی كه در هنگام خواب؛ خوانده یا نقل میشوند، میكند، اما در این میان ناگاه، همه چیز به هم میریزد؛ آنگاه که راوی داستان میفهمد، كه در سالگرد مرگ دوست خویش قرار دارد، به ناگاه یک سری رخدادهای ناباورانه رخ میدهند...؛
در داستان کوتاه «كم بخت» راوی داستان مراقب خواهر بزرگتر خویش است؛ خواهری كه در حال مرگ است؛ در این داستان درخشان، «یوشیموتو» نگاهی ماهرانه و ظریف به رابطه این دو خواهر میاندازند؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 09/12/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 02/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
This book consists of two separate stories, making up the two parts of the book's title.
The first story, Hardboiled, is written from the perspective of a woman who is hiking alone, passes a strange shrine and ends up in a hotel with a couple of surreal incidents that follow. Her back story is filled in as a mixture of narrative and dream sequences.
The second story, Hard Luck, is about a woman whose sister Kuni is in a coma. Kuni's fiancé leaves her after the incident, but his brother continues to visit. It becomes apparent that he is interested in the protagonist of the story.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و دوم ماه نوامبر سال2013میلادی
عنوان: سرسخت و کم بخت؛ نویسنده بنانا یوشیموتو؛ برگردان البرز قریب؛ نشر تهران، حرفه نویسنده، سال1390، در128ص، شابک9786006445007؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ژاپن - سده20م
کتاب از متن نسخه انگلیسی ترجمه شده دو داستان است: سرسخت؛ و کم بخت
در چگونگی دو داستان این کتاب آمده (مثل دوقلوهایی كه مسیرشان جدا میشود، این دو داستان لطیف چیزی فراتر از صدای اغوا كننده ی خالقشان را به اشتراک میگذارند...)؛
موضوع سوررئال و روایت رویاگونه ی «سرسخت»؛ آن را بیشتر شبیه به داستانهایی كه در هنگام خواب؛ خوانده یا نقل میشوند، میكند، اما در این میان ناگاه، همه چیز به هم میریزد؛ آنگاه که راوی داستان میفهمد، كه در سالگرد مرگ دوست خویش قرار دارد، به ناگاه یک سری رخدادهای ناباورانه رخ میدهند...؛
در داستان کوتاه «كم بخت» راوی داستان مراقب خواهر بزرگتر خویش است؛ خواهری كه در حال مرگ است؛ در این داستان درخشان، «یوشیموتو» نگاهی ماهرانه و ظریف به رابطه این دو خواهر میاندازند؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 09/12/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 02/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
May 2, 2024
My complete review is published at Before We Go Blog.
“She was still there inside me now, just as she always was: a life put on hold, a memory I didn't know how to handle.”
Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto consists of two separate novellas, Hardboiled and Hard Luck, both of which are masterfully written from the point of view of an unnamed woman narrator who is dealing with the emotional aftermath of the death of a loved one.
The first novella, Hardboiled, is a Gothic-style story about loneliness, steeped in magical realism. A year after the death of her girlfriend, the narrator feels guilty about her lack of emotions, having hardened herself against her own grief. This is a ghost story, and the narrator eventually comes to terms with the death of her lover and her own feelings through conversations with ghosts in a haunted hotel. The dead ghosts feel more human than living, breathing people:
“Ultimately, though, it’s living people that frighten me the most. It’s always seemed to me that nothing could be scarier than a person, because as dreadful as places can be, they're still just places; and no matter how awful ghosts might seem, they're just dead people. I always thought that the most terrifying things anyone could ever think up were the things living people came up with.”
In Hard Luck, the first-person narrator deals with the slow death of her sister, who has been left in a vegetative state due to a cerebral hemorrhage. She is slowly fading away, only being kept alive by a respirator in the hospital.
As usual, Banana Yoshimoto captures the emotions perfectly:
“Death isn’t sad. What hurts is being drowned by these emotions.”
Eventually the narrator finds peace in accepting her sister’s death:
“And it struck me that if anything was a miracle, it was this: the lovely moments we experienced during the small, almost imperceptible periods of relief. The instant the unbearable pain and the tears faded away, and I saw with my own eyes how vast the workings of the universe were, I would feel my sister's soul.”
Banana Yoshimoto’s writing is sparse, elegant, and beautiful throughout Hardboiled & Hard Luck. She conveys emotions in the simplest possible way, but always in a way that strikes right to the heart.
“She was still there inside me now, just as she always was: a life put on hold, a memory I didn't know how to handle.”
Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto consists of two separate novellas, Hardboiled and Hard Luck, both of which are masterfully written from the point of view of an unnamed woman narrator who is dealing with the emotional aftermath of the death of a loved one.
The first novella, Hardboiled, is a Gothic-style story about loneliness, steeped in magical realism. A year after the death of her girlfriend, the narrator feels guilty about her lack of emotions, having hardened herself against her own grief. This is a ghost story, and the narrator eventually comes to terms with the death of her lover and her own feelings through conversations with ghosts in a haunted hotel. The dead ghosts feel more human than living, breathing people:
“Ultimately, though, it’s living people that frighten me the most. It’s always seemed to me that nothing could be scarier than a person, because as dreadful as places can be, they're still just places; and no matter how awful ghosts might seem, they're just dead people. I always thought that the most terrifying things anyone could ever think up were the things living people came up with.”
In Hard Luck, the first-person narrator deals with the slow death of her sister, who has been left in a vegetative state due to a cerebral hemorrhage. She is slowly fading away, only being kept alive by a respirator in the hospital.
As usual, Banana Yoshimoto captures the emotions perfectly:
“Death isn’t sad. What hurts is being drowned by these emotions.”
Eventually the narrator finds peace in accepting her sister’s death:
“And it struck me that if anything was a miracle, it was this: the lovely moments we experienced during the small, almost imperceptible periods of relief. The instant the unbearable pain and the tears faded away, and I saw with my own eyes how vast the workings of the universe were, I would feel my sister's soul.”
Banana Yoshimoto’s writing is sparse, elegant, and beautiful throughout Hardboiled & Hard Luck. She conveys emotions in the simplest possible way, but always in a way that strikes right to the heart.
August 3, 2021
Two stories, both about coming to terms with grief. Despite the depressing subject matter, there's a lightness to these stories; not in terms of how they treat the subject matter, which is appropriately serious, but in that they never let the sadness overwhelm. They're borderline comforting reads.
Hardboiled follows an unnamed woman on the anniversary of her former girlfriend's death. She stays the night at an old hotel, and experiences several supernatural events. This is the longer of the two and definitely the better one (in my opinion). Between ghostly encounters we get a sense of her past experiences and relationships and see where she's tried to detach herself from the past somewhat. The story also contains my favorite darkly comedic line in the book:
The second story, Hard Luck, is a much more realistic story that follows a woman whose sister had a brain aneurysm. She has to come to terms with the fact that the family has given up hope that she will recover, that though she is physically alive her sister no longer is mentally, and the decision to cease life support. I know, this sounds depressing as hell, but it's told with a light touch. Instead of being the emotional train wreck of a story it could be, it instead focuses on keeping going, coming to terms and moving forward. It doesn't the easy/unrealistic path of our narrator getting over everything, but it shows that over time could.
There's a dreamlike quality to both stories. In the first the supernatural is presented as frightening, but not as openly antagonistic as one might expect. The second story presents everything both personal and at a distance (which is honestly brilliant, as people often both obsess and distance themselves from what is going on after the death of a loved one). There's a lot of complex emotions here, but all written in a simple, and understandable way. I can't say I loved either story, but both were worth a read. 3/5 stars.
Hardboiled follows an unnamed woman on the anniversary of her former girlfriend's death. She stays the night at an old hotel, and experiences several supernatural events. This is the longer of the two and definitely the better one (in my opinion). Between ghostly encounters we get a sense of her past experiences and relationships and see where she's tried to detach herself from the past somewhat. The story also contains my favorite darkly comedic line in the book:
The second story, Hard Luck, is a much more realistic story that follows a woman whose sister had a brain aneurysm. She has to come to terms with the fact that the family has given up hope that she will recover, that though she is physically alive her sister no longer is mentally, and the decision to cease life support. I know, this sounds depressing as hell, but it's told with a light touch. Instead of being the emotional train wreck of a story it could be, it instead focuses on keeping going, coming to terms and moving forward. It doesn't the easy/unrealistic path of our narrator getting over everything, but it shows that over time could.
There's a dreamlike quality to both stories. In the first the supernatural is presented as frightening, but not as openly antagonistic as one might expect. The second story presents everything both personal and at a distance (which is honestly brilliant, as people often both obsess and distance themselves from what is going on after the death of a loved one). There's a lot of complex emotions here, but all written in a simple, and understandable way. I can't say I loved either story, but both were worth a read. 3/5 stars.
March 29, 2023
2 in 1 story book.
1st story
Hardboiled - 4 stars
2nd story
Hard Luck - 5 stars
A sad and sweet story.
1st story
Hardboiled - 4 stars
2nd story
Hard Luck - 5 stars
A sad and sweet story.
February 24, 2014
My unsubstantiated theory on Banana is that she needs a better translator. Not that she's not great -- she often is -- but I feel like there's a sort of choppiness in her prose sometimes, and sporadic awkward turns of phrase. That's less true in this book than in some of her others, maybe, but it's still there.
I do think she's basically in the same class as Murakami, using a similar voice to skate through many of the same themes, like the "this side / the other side" dichotomy, with things and people moving silently and softly between the two, and music and its power, and time and its betrayals, and the loss of self through occultish means, and fog and darkness and loss and aching loneliness....
I feel like Banana should be as ragingly popular as Haruki is, but the fact is that he reads like being submerged in something, mercury maybe, where everything is all liquid and flow; and even though she's great, Banana just doesn't quite have the same consistent immersiveness.
About Hardboiled and Hard Luck. It's two novellas, a little tiny bit of book that you can read in a few hours. "Hardboiled" is stunning, a soft slow story about being in love with a dead girl. "Hard Luck," however, sort of lost me a little; it's about a girl whose sister is slowly dying, and it is so, so sad. I had to keep mentally distancing myself to keep from breaking down in devastation.
I do think she's basically in the same class as Murakami, using a similar voice to skate through many of the same themes, like the "this side / the other side" dichotomy, with things and people moving silently and softly between the two, and music and its power, and time and its betrayals, and the loss of self through occultish means, and fog and darkness and loss and aching loneliness....
I feel like Banana should be as ragingly popular as Haruki is, but the fact is that he reads like being submerged in something, mercury maybe, where everything is all liquid and flow; and even though she's great, Banana just doesn't quite have the same consistent immersiveness.
About Hardboiled and Hard Luck. It's two novellas, a little tiny bit of book that you can read in a few hours. "Hardboiled" is stunning, a soft slow story about being in love with a dead girl. "Hard Luck," however, sort of lost me a little; it's about a girl whose sister is slowly dying, and it is so, so sad. I had to keep mentally distancing myself to keep from breaking down in devastation.
September 18, 2020
Two sensitive and meditative stories about coping with loss and moving on - 4 stars
People are always going on about how scared they are of ghosts, but the way I see it, people are much more frightening.
Hardboiled is a story of a mountain trip. The main character encounters a strange shrine with black pebbles. These later on seem to be the cause for a bad udon joint burning to the ground (a negative tripadvisor review apparently not being sufficient). There are other supernatural events, including a hotel suicide, but the main events are in the past and relate to an untimely death of a loved one. The story is both a bit scary and full of atmosphere.
Hard Luck lacks a supernatural edge to it and relates the story of the sister of comatose Kani, who dies in the most Japanese stereotypical way possible:
Already a month had passed since my sister had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. It happened after she stayed up several nights in a row preparing a manual for the person who was going to take over her job when she quit to get married.
It is a quiet tale about moving on after a loss and opening up your heart despite terrible things happening.
Overall a well-paired duo of stories to savour in an evening. Curious to read more from Banana Yoshimoto!
People are always going on about how scared they are of ghosts, but the way I see it, people are much more frightening.
Hardboiled is a story of a mountain trip. The main character encounters a strange shrine with black pebbles. These later on seem to be the cause for a bad udon joint burning to the ground (a negative tripadvisor review apparently not being sufficient). There are other supernatural events, including a hotel suicide, but the main events are in the past and relate to an untimely death of a loved one. The story is both a bit scary and full of atmosphere.
Hard Luck lacks a supernatural edge to it and relates the story of the sister of comatose Kani, who dies in the most Japanese stereotypical way possible:
Already a month had passed since my sister had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. It happened after she stayed up several nights in a row preparing a manual for the person who was going to take over her job when she quit to get married.
It is a quiet tale about moving on after a loss and opening up your heart despite terrible things happening.
Overall a well-paired duo of stories to savour in an evening. Curious to read more from Banana Yoshimoto!
Read
March 16, 2018خوب بود، نو و متفاوت. داستنهای دیگرش را هم می خوانم.
June 14, 2023
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3 ½ stars
Banana Yoshimoto is at her whimsical best in the two short stories collected in Hardboiled & Hard Luck.
Her storytelling is so carefree, unconcerned by plot or traditional narrative structures. Yet, it is characterized by a breeziness that adds a propelling energy to her stories. Maybe this energy comes from her protagonist’s voices, which remain easy-going and often oddly cheerful, regardless of their circumstances. Far from inducing one to sleep, the dreamlike atmosphere that is typical of Yoshimoto’s work, has a charming effect. Yoshimoto’s knack for surreality, and her tendency to dabble in magical realism, revitalize what would otherwise be more grounded slice-of-life stories. Yoshimoto’s off-beat realism is charming, occasionally bizarre, and ultimately heartwarming.
In 'Harboiled', my favorite of the two stories, we follow an unnamed narrator who after a hike in the mountains she goes to stay at a hotel. We learn that it is the anniversary of her ex-lover’s death. The narrator dreams of this lover, a woman by the name of Chizuru, and recalls the way they came together and, eventually, apart. The narrator is not only visited by Chizuru, another woman comes to see her. While the story features ghosts and haunted places, the narrative feels far from eerie. These visitations feel far from fantastical, but rather natural extensions of the ‘real’ world. While the narrator is taken aback by her encounters with the dead, she takes the experience in stride, and so does the woman working at the hotel. The bittersweet mood permeating this story adds to the overall atmosphere. Witty yet heartfelt, 'Hardboiled' is a delightfully dreamy story about past loves and regrets.
The second story instead follows a young woman whose sister is in a coma. Knowing that she will soon die, the sister longs for past days. She forms a tentative connection with the older brother of her sister’s fiancé, but the timing makes it impossible for them to explore or deepen their relationship. This story does seem to incorporate many of Yoshimoto’s thematic trademarks (sisters, comas, jokes about incest, cold male love interests), but given its brevity, it isn’t weighed down by them.
I guess both stories in this collection are about letting go, reconciling yourself with past loves, and moving forward. Balancing melancholy with humor, Hardboiled & Hard Luck makes for a quick yet dreamy read.
3 ½ stars
“I felt as if this place I had come to was nowhere. As if I no longer had a home to return to. That road I had been on didn’t lead anywhere, this trip would never end—it seemed to me as if next morning would never arrive.”
Banana Yoshimoto is at her whimsical best in the two short stories collected in Hardboiled & Hard Luck.
Her storytelling is so carefree, unconcerned by plot or traditional narrative structures. Yet, it is characterized by a breeziness that adds a propelling energy to her stories. Maybe this energy comes from her protagonist’s voices, which remain easy-going and often oddly cheerful, regardless of their circumstances. Far from inducing one to sleep, the dreamlike atmosphere that is typical of Yoshimoto’s work, has a charming effect. Yoshimoto’s knack for surreality, and her tendency to dabble in magical realism, revitalize what would otherwise be more grounded slice-of-life stories. Yoshimoto’s off-beat realism is charming, occasionally bizarre, and ultimately heartwarming.
In 'Harboiled', my favorite of the two stories, we follow an unnamed narrator who after a hike in the mountains she goes to stay at a hotel. We learn that it is the anniversary of her ex-lover’s death. The narrator dreams of this lover, a woman by the name of Chizuru, and recalls the way they came together and, eventually, apart. The narrator is not only visited by Chizuru, another woman comes to see her. While the story features ghosts and haunted places, the narrative feels far from eerie. These visitations feel far from fantastical, but rather natural extensions of the ‘real’ world. While the narrator is taken aback by her encounters with the dead, she takes the experience in stride, and so does the woman working at the hotel. The bittersweet mood permeating this story adds to the overall atmosphere. Witty yet heartfelt, 'Hardboiled' is a delightfully dreamy story about past loves and regrets.
The second story instead follows a young woman whose sister is in a coma. Knowing that she will soon die, the sister longs for past days. She forms a tentative connection with the older brother of her sister’s fiancé, but the timing makes it impossible for them to explore or deepen their relationship. This story does seem to incorporate many of Yoshimoto’s thematic trademarks (sisters, comas, jokes about incest, cold male love interests), but given its brevity, it isn’t weighed down by them.
I guess both stories in this collection are about letting go, reconciling yourself with past loves, and moving forward. Balancing melancholy with humor, Hardboiled & Hard Luck makes for a quick yet dreamy read.
February 14, 2020
I give up on Banana Yoshimoto, at least her latter works. I have no appreciation for what I have read to date whatsoever, and that includes Kitchen.
In Hardboiled the protagonist relates dreams and good God how I hate hearing about other people’s dreams! She moves in with a woman and has sex with her and then moves out and the woman is brokenhearted and then dies and comes back to the protagonist in dreams. In Hard Luck, the protagonist’s sister is in a coma because (cautionary tale here!!!) she stayed up several nights in a row preparing a manual for the person who was going to take over her job when she quit to get married, and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. So let that be a lesson to you all…it would be much better to live the life of a tree sloth than to pull consecutive all-nighters.
Anyhoo, the protagonist occasionally stays at the bedside of her vegetable sister (that’s what she is called) and her fiancé does not show up to grieve for her…rather his older brother does because he wants to hit up on the protagonist. That’s not a bad place to meet young available women when you think about it…in a hospital by the bed of a comatose young woman.
In Hardboiled the protagonist relates dreams and good God how I hate hearing about other people’s dreams! She moves in with a woman and has sex with her and then moves out and the woman is brokenhearted and then dies and comes back to the protagonist in dreams. In Hard Luck, the protagonist’s sister is in a coma because (cautionary tale here!!!) she stayed up several nights in a row preparing a manual for the person who was going to take over her job when she quit to get married, and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. So let that be a lesson to you all…it would be much better to live the life of a tree sloth than to pull consecutive all-nighters.
Anyhoo, the protagonist occasionally stays at the bedside of her vegetable sister (that’s what she is called) and her fiancé does not show up to grieve for her…rather his older brother does because he wants to hit up on the protagonist. That’s not a bad place to meet young available women when you think about it…in a hospital by the bed of a comatose young woman.
January 20, 2018
The more I read Banana Yoshimoto, the more I’m learning to appreciate her books for what they are—pop lit written in a simple style that nevertheless has moments of great depth and beautiful insight. In general, I tend to find her stories either quite stirring or quite forgettable. In the case of Hardboiled & Hard Luck, I found that the former story barely left an impression, while the latter was quietly moving.
In all the books of hers that I’ve read, Yoshimoto is able to capture a sense of hopefulness amidst grief and devastation, and for that reason her stories always feel like a balm—gentle, comforting, and occasionally profound. I don’t know that I will ever find another Yoshimoto story that knocks the wind out of me the way “Moonlight Shadow” did, but her books make for nice, quick palette cleansers between longer reads, and their exploration of the inevitability of loss, death, and healing are among the themes that keep me coming back for more.
In all the books of hers that I’ve read, Yoshimoto is able to capture a sense of hopefulness amidst grief and devastation, and for that reason her stories always feel like a balm—gentle, comforting, and occasionally profound. I don’t know that I will ever find another Yoshimoto story that knocks the wind out of me the way “Moonlight Shadow” did, but her books make for nice, quick palette cleansers between longer reads, and their exploration of the inevitability of loss, death, and healing are among the themes that keep me coming back for more.
June 24, 2016
This book collects two novellas by the whimsically named Banana Yoshimoto: Hardboiled and Hard Luck. Both are total garbage.
Hardboiled is about a woman who’s glum about her recent breakup with her girlfriend. The story takes a cheesy campfire ghost story turn towards the end though that’s about the only remotely interesting part of both stories.
Hard Luck is about a woman who’s miserable about her sister who’s on life support and the doctor’s about to pull the plug. Waaaah, death is saaaaad!
These stories are among the most pretentious, emotionally un-affecting, boring and self-consciously “literary” I’ve ever read. They’re as bad as creative writing students’ efforts! Story? This writer doesn’t know what that is. It’s a short book but I kept putting it down after managing a handful of pages where not a single sentence conjured up anything in my head.
Yoshimoto describes trees and sunlight and whatever with all the energy of a coma patient. These were words that went into my head and exited without purchase. It’s rare to read a book that you forget as you’re reading it but Yoshimoto pulled it off here! The hardest part of this experience, besides reading this crap, was trying to remember what happened. The answer is, basically, nothing.
Hardboiled/Hard Luck isn’t even good to wipe your bum with…. Not that I’ve tried of course… ahem.
Hardboiled is about a woman who’s glum about her recent breakup with her girlfriend. The story takes a cheesy campfire ghost story turn towards the end though that’s about the only remotely interesting part of both stories.
Hard Luck is about a woman who’s miserable about her sister who’s on life support and the doctor’s about to pull the plug. Waaaah, death is saaaaad!
These stories are among the most pretentious, emotionally un-affecting, boring and self-consciously “literary” I’ve ever read. They’re as bad as creative writing students’ efforts! Story? This writer doesn’t know what that is. It’s a short book but I kept putting it down after managing a handful of pages where not a single sentence conjured up anything in my head.
Yoshimoto describes trees and sunlight and whatever with all the energy of a coma patient. These were words that went into my head and exited without purchase. It’s rare to read a book that you forget as you’re reading it but Yoshimoto pulled it off here! The hardest part of this experience, besides reading this crap, was trying to remember what happened. The answer is, basically, nothing.
Hardboiled/Hard Luck isn’t even good to wipe your bum with…. Not that I’ve tried of course… ahem.
March 19, 2013
Ms. Lizzie D’souza used to make the most decadent marzipan Easter eggs a palate has ever savored. Nestled oh so cozily among the delicate weaves of satin cradles, unwearyingly waiting for enthusiastic strangers through the glass casement, somehow brought ephemeral magic to the quaint bakery down the leafy street; evermore dazzling with Lizzie’s welcoming smile. Easter is still a month away, but the commencing of Lent has brought in an inventory of pre-orders of the sugary almond confectionery. “We take Easter egg orders- original, caramel and chocolate” ; shone through the marble interiors of a grand patisserie. I put in my order for a two dozen of lavender hued and beige marzipan goodies with sugary icing. They now come in stylish boxes and not in those satin cradles. Ms. Lizzie has been dead for more than a decade now and the bakery has been lost somewhere in the gigantic commercialized edifice. The misty eyes and half-woken smile that followed me home was not in the commemoration of the deceased bakery or Ms. Lizzie , it was the wakeful memory of my first ever road tantrum ; an obstinate demeanor that soulfully made my grandfather splurge our cab fare on Ms. Lizzie’s marzipan creations. I was the happiest 4-yr old carrying my prize all the way home.
Closure is the trickiest word in the human psyche. Closure -- the desire or need individuals have for information that will allow them to conclude an issue that had previously been clouded in ambiguity and uncertainty.
I am way too old to be in denial of my grandpa’s demise, but, undying memories never seem to be fading. Although, the conclusion of existing physicality two decades ago seems a distant past to those copious tears that flowed in the initial years, yet dormant emotions triggering with the slightest hint of nostalgia can never bring the said rational closure. Maybe, because I never got say a proper goodbye. I was in school when he departed this very earth. Closure is certainly the most passive sentiment.
“Time expands and contracts. When it expands, it’s like pitch; it folds people in its arms and holds them forever in its embrace. It doesn't let us go very easily. Sometime you go back again to the place you've come from and close your eyes and realize that not a second has passed, and time just leaves you there, stranded, in the darkness.”
Chizuru was an enigmatic personality. External noises striding through her apartment walls never bothered her, if truth be told; they actually comforted her in some weird ways. I reckon her alienated life yearned for sounds all round. The music prancing around the CD player, couples sharing intimate conversations in the neighboring flat; the resonating gradations reassured her anxious disposition. Chizuru’s untimely death left her lover in a quandary of mystifying culpability. Mr. John belting out “sorry seems to be the hardest word” in the background questions the narrator’s supernatural illusions on a mountainous trek and begs the validity of Elton’s words. Did Chizuru’s baffling death left a hollow space in the chronicler’s burdensome heart? Would she attain the said closure of over her lover’s demise if only she could tell Chizuru how her decision to end the relationship was entirely her doing and if she could she would have stayed back? Incomplete farewells weigh one’s heart down more than the encumbered consequences of a hardboiled life; mystical reveries being the definitive pied piper to the veiled fretfulness.
“Death isn't sad. What hurts is being drowned with emotions”.
Kuni’s hard luck distorted her sister’s sanity with tearful valedictions each day as Kuni slowly succumbed to obscure comatose depths. Coming to terms with the frozen reality of bereavement as the boundless spirit flies from the morbid bodily haven; undoubtedly the nastiest occurrence of life and death. Emptiness looms its ghastly countenance when we move from old to new relationships; the living endures the melancholic adversities of the departed.
" To focus on the unbearable only marred what was scared…….. If any thing was a miracle, it was the lovely moments we experienced during the small, almost imperceptible period of relief”.
'Rest in peace', as we bless the departed soul, the genuine prayer is sermonic for serenity of the living. Yoshimoto’s undemanding prose may not be alarming and plays around surrealism similar to other Japanese literary compatriots, but, its fateful characters are memorable. Indeed, there is no closure to a heartfelt remembrance.
Closure is the trickiest word in the human psyche. Closure -- the desire or need individuals have for information that will allow them to conclude an issue that had previously been clouded in ambiguity and uncertainty.
I am way too old to be in denial of my grandpa’s demise, but, undying memories never seem to be fading. Although, the conclusion of existing physicality two decades ago seems a distant past to those copious tears that flowed in the initial years, yet dormant emotions triggering with the slightest hint of nostalgia can never bring the said rational closure. Maybe, because I never got say a proper goodbye. I was in school when he departed this very earth. Closure is certainly the most passive sentiment.
“Time expands and contracts. When it expands, it’s like pitch; it folds people in its arms and holds them forever in its embrace. It doesn't let us go very easily. Sometime you go back again to the place you've come from and close your eyes and realize that not a second has passed, and time just leaves you there, stranded, in the darkness.”
Chizuru was an enigmatic personality. External noises striding through her apartment walls never bothered her, if truth be told; they actually comforted her in some weird ways. I reckon her alienated life yearned for sounds all round. The music prancing around the CD player, couples sharing intimate conversations in the neighboring flat; the resonating gradations reassured her anxious disposition. Chizuru’s untimely death left her lover in a quandary of mystifying culpability. Mr. John belting out “sorry seems to be the hardest word” in the background questions the narrator’s supernatural illusions on a mountainous trek and begs the validity of Elton’s words. Did Chizuru’s baffling death left a hollow space in the chronicler’s burdensome heart? Would she attain the said closure of over her lover’s demise if only she could tell Chizuru how her decision to end the relationship was entirely her doing and if she could she would have stayed back? Incomplete farewells weigh one’s heart down more than the encumbered consequences of a hardboiled life; mystical reveries being the definitive pied piper to the veiled fretfulness.
“Death isn't sad. What hurts is being drowned with emotions”.
Kuni’s hard luck distorted her sister’s sanity with tearful valedictions each day as Kuni slowly succumbed to obscure comatose depths. Coming to terms with the frozen reality of bereavement as the boundless spirit flies from the morbid bodily haven; undoubtedly the nastiest occurrence of life and death. Emptiness looms its ghastly countenance when we move from old to new relationships; the living endures the melancholic adversities of the departed.
" To focus on the unbearable only marred what was scared…….. If any thing was a miracle, it was the lovely moments we experienced during the small, almost imperceptible period of relief”.
'Rest in peace', as we bless the departed soul, the genuine prayer is sermonic for serenity of the living. Yoshimoto’s undemanding prose may not be alarming and plays around surrealism similar to other Japanese literary compatriots, but, its fateful characters are memorable. Indeed, there is no closure to a heartfelt remembrance.
September 21, 2016
داستان کم بخت نظرم رو خیلی جلب کرد ، برعکس سرسخت.
در سرسخت آخرش نفهمیدم نویسنده هدفش چی بود.
اما در کم بخت نویسنده خیلی خوب اون حال و هوا و منظورش رو رسونده بود. اگر فقط این داستان در کتاب بود ۴ تا ستاره بهش می دادم.
در سرسخت آخرش نفهمیدم نویسنده هدفش چی بود.
اما در کم بخت نویسنده خیلی خوب اون حال و هوا و منظورش رو رسونده بود. اگر فقط این داستان در کتاب بود ۴ تا ستاره بهش می دادم.
August 25, 2022
Gyászfeldolgozás... hááát, mondanám, hogy japán módra, de igazából fogalmam sincs, hogy a japánok dolgoznak fel így gyászt, vagy csak a szerző. Mindenesetre van a szövegekben valami kényelmetlen, mintha Yoshimoto egymástól elütő elemeket akarna egymás mellé kényszeríteni: a hideg, távolságtartó szakaszok lírai tájleírásba mennek át, majd mintha valami misztikus-gótikus rémregény kulisszáiba tévednék. Csupa váratlan stiláris kanyar, ami - ha pozitívak akarunk lenni - izgalmassá teszi a szöveget, ha viszont rossz passzban vagyunk, gondolhatjuk akár azt is, hogy "he? hát mi ez a kócos szénakazal?" Megjegyzem, magam is a két megközelítés közt lebegtem - az első kisregény például helyenként izgatott, bár időnként megfordult a fejemben, hogy ezt vagy félrefordították, vagy az író hajlik a pongyolaság felé. A második kisregény viszont kifejezetten untatott. Értem, hogy a gyászból fakadó új esélyekről szól, csak épp inkább tűnt odavetett konyhapszichologizálásnak, mint érvényes irodalmi műnek. Úgyhogy én se tudok mást mondani, mint hogy: nyiff.
August 21, 2008
This edition of Hardboiled & Hard Luck, which is actually two novellas (some would even call them long short stories) rather than a single novel, is adorable. It's smaller and thinner than your average trade paperback, with a matte pastel cover. Holding it feels like holding a kitten or a newborn, something very special and delicate.
That's a good metaphor for the book, as well. Everything Banana Yoshimoto writes is delicate. She holds human emotion in the palm of her hand and is so very careful with it, so loving. The characters in Hardboiled & Hard Luck are both unmistakably modern young Japanese women, both dealing with loss, a recurring theme in Banana's work. The subject matter could get heavy and depressing, but the stories are so carefully written that, instead, they come out touching and hopeful.
I adore Banana Yoshimoto and this book, the first I've read in years, had made me remember why. I think I'll be pulling her novels off my shelf and re-reading them soon, just to be back in her world, listening to her voice.
That's a good metaphor for the book, as well. Everything Banana Yoshimoto writes is delicate. She holds human emotion in the palm of her hand and is so very careful with it, so loving. The characters in Hardboiled & Hard Luck are both unmistakably modern young Japanese women, both dealing with loss, a recurring theme in Banana's work. The subject matter could get heavy and depressing, but the stories are so carefully written that, instead, they come out touching and hopeful.
I adore Banana Yoshimoto and this book, the first I've read in years, had made me remember why. I think I'll be pulling her novels off my shelf and re-reading them soon, just to be back in her world, listening to her voice.
February 2, 2022
I picked up this collection of two novellas, not expecting to love it as much. Actually, I didn’t read the synopsis, since Banana Yoshimoto is an auto-buy author for me.
Hardboiled: 5 Stars
This novella was my favourite! The story follows a nameless narrator who reminisces about her ex-lover when she realizes that it is the anniversary of her death. It features an F/F relationship, which surprised me, but it made me love it even more.
Once again, Yoshimoto deals with the recurring themes of grief, love, loneliness, and regret with a dash of supernatural elements included in the story. As expected, no one can write about such topics like Yoshimoto does. It was poetic despite being about a sad topic. It was the first time I was annotating one of her books, and it made me pay so much more attention to her writing style and how much she uses the weather or the seasons to express the turmoil of her characters.
Hard Luck: 4,5 Stars
Still a good novella, but I liked the first one so much that I can’t give this one 5 stars.
Hardboiled: 5 Stars
This novella was my favourite! The story follows a nameless narrator who reminisces about her ex-lover when she realizes that it is the anniversary of her death. It features an F/F relationship, which surprised me, but it made me love it even more.
Once again, Yoshimoto deals with the recurring themes of grief, love, loneliness, and regret with a dash of supernatural elements included in the story. As expected, no one can write about such topics like Yoshimoto does. It was poetic despite being about a sad topic. It was the first time I was annotating one of her books, and it made me pay so much more attention to her writing style and how much she uses the weather or the seasons to express the turmoil of her characters.
Hard Luck: 4,5 Stars
Still a good novella, but I liked the first one so much that I can’t give this one 5 stars.
August 6, 2023
I enjoyed this two-story anthology from Banana Yoshimoto somewhat less than Kitchen and Goodbye Tsgumi. Hence the 3 star rating. Although Yoshimoto's writing is simple, unpretentious and flowing (as I am accustomed to from her previous books), allowing me to finish this book in a 24-hour period, the stories for one reason or another did not grip me. Despite having some sublimely lyrical segments, the first tale, Hardboiled, was too fantastic and coincidental to captivate me, which diminished my enthusiasm greatly for the message the author was trying to convey about loss and remembrance. The evolution of the story was also quite rapid and unpredictable, yet in the end I was left unimpressed. The second tale, Hard Luck, was quite different from the first, although it also deals with the same theme of loss and remembrance. This story was a somewhat more emotionally detached treatment of a heavy topic. I again found myself missing the engagement needed to care more than superficially about the characters and what happened to them. Overall this opus of Banana Yoshimoto is not her most unforgettable. Hardboiled & Hard Luck is a decent, light read for anyone interested in experiencing the full breadth of Yoshimoto's literary works.
May 12, 2021
Während mich die erste der beiden Geschichten, Hard-boiled, nicht ganz erreicht hat, war die zweite, Hard Luck, sehr berührend.
January 21, 2024
4.5.⭐️
In this work, as in her others, I once again discovered a sense of being truly seen and understood. Banana Yoshimoto possesses the ability to capture the subtle beauty of our everyday life and struggles in all of her books, wrapped in a blanket of hope.
In this work, as in her others, I once again discovered a sense of being truly seen and understood. Banana Yoshimoto possesses the ability to capture the subtle beauty of our everyday life and struggles in all of her books, wrapped in a blanket of hope.
November 6, 2020
Banana Yoshimoto is a master in writing about loss and pain. Her heroines are always intriguing, interesting, and odd. Hardbouled and Hard Luck were okay for short reads, but not her finests works. Somehow it felt a bit been there read that and the stories were so so, even though her writting was top notch as always.
September 15, 2022
those three chapters of hard luck got me sobbing so hard my eyes HURT
June 22, 2012
I loved the way that Banana Yoshimoto writes about a dark theme as is death. But the most delightful is the manner that she includes the feelings of those around the dead or the terminally ill, because they really are not tales about the end of a life, but about sensations of those still living.
Hardboiled was the tale i liked most, despite that the ghostly stories are not my favourites, because the character has a mixed of strong feelings all together (for instance guilt, freedom, love, fear, etc) that are minimized by the reason. Hard luck is more about come to decisions.
Hardboiled was the tale i liked most, despite that the ghostly stories are not my favourites, because the character has a mixed of strong feelings all together (for instance guilt, freedom, love, fear, etc) that are minimized by the reason. Hard luck is more about come to decisions.
June 19, 2018
Beautifully written, spare and reflective, this book allowed me to slow down and contemplate. I loved the importance placed on dreams, elements of the supernatural, and beautiful nature-inspired images.
November 8, 2020
yet another #BananaYoshimoto masterpiece! this one consists of two novellas: Hardboiled is one night with this girl who reflects on the death of her ex-girlfriend while hiking through the mountains and sleeping in a haunted hotel. Hard Luck is about this girl whose dying sister is frequently visited by the sister's ex's brother. these plots sound complicated, i know, but in the hands of Yoshimoto-san these are the softest, most relaxing, zen-like stories you'll ever read.
it must be so nice to talk with her about life and all the weird things we know exist in the world but we don't have a name of. in few words she unravels knots in the characters', and in turn the readers', tired, yearning hearts. i love banana yoshimoto 💕💕💕😭
read this if you::
-feel like you're in such a complicated place inside yourself rn
-are looking for a wise, funny sister you never had.
it must be so nice to talk with her about life and all the weird things we know exist in the world but we don't have a name of. in few words she unravels knots in the characters', and in turn the readers', tired, yearning hearts. i love banana yoshimoto 💕💕💕😭
read this if you::
-feel like you're in such a complicated place inside yourself rn
-are looking for a wise, funny sister you never had.
September 5, 2019
سه‌ونیم.
همه‌چیز کامل بود. شروع گیرا و کنجکاوی‌برانگیز، عنصرهای جالب و معماگونه، توصیف‌ها و توضیح‌های جزیی و به‌جا، شخصیت‌های مختصر و مفید و روابط انسانی عمیق و باورپذیر... و پایان‌بندیِ معمولی، خیلی خیلی معمولی. انقدر معمولی که توی ذوقم خورد.
حیفِ داستان جالب و رویا/وهم‌گونه‌ی «سرسخت» بود که اون‌طور ناگهان تموم شه.
پی‌نوشت. ایراد هکسره و پانویس‌های زیاد و بی‌دلیل. چرا باید «اسپانیا» پانویس شه آقای حرفه‌هنرمند؟ خنگی چیزی نیستیم که خدانکرده.
این که من دارم این ایرادگیری رو توی پانویس انجام می‌دم هم خودش آیرونی جالبی داره البته.
همه‌چیز کامل بود. شروع گیرا و کنجکاوی‌برانگیز، عنصرهای جالب و معماگونه، توصیف‌ها و توضیح‌های جزیی و به‌جا، شخصیت‌های مختصر و مفید و روابط انسانی عمیق و باورپذیر... و پایان‌بندیِ معمولی، خیلی خیلی معمولی. انقدر معمولی که توی ذوقم خورد.
حیفِ داستان جالب و رویا/وهم‌گونه‌ی «سرسخت» بود که اون‌طور ناگهان تموم شه.
پی‌نوشت. ایراد هکسره و پانویس‌های زیاد و بی‌دلیل. چرا باید «اسپانیا» پانویس شه آقای حرفه‌هنرمند؟ خنگی چیزی نیستیم که خدانکرده.
این که من دارم این ایرادگیری رو توی پانویس انجام می‌دم هم خودش آیرونی جالبی داره البته.
April 6, 2011
I always feel a lack when I read translations. The words, so lovingly put in place, feel out of place. Sentences strung across the page, at times, fall short. They have communicated a message, transferred their intent, but lost some beauty along the way. It is as if once the writing is outside it's natural language, it is all business, focused on the task. Hardboiled and Hard Luck, two novellas by Japanese writer, Banana Yoshimoto, are two works of fiction that slide into the group of translations which may not do the writer justice.
Both of the novellas revolve around loss and death. Each one has a young woman as the narrator who is reminiscing and saying goodbye to a loved one who has died. In "Hardboiled," the narrator remembers a former love, Chizuru, with whom she had a falling out, and whom later died. It takes place in the span of one night, in which the narrator is visited by a forlorn ghost in an old, countryside hotel. Through this encounter, the narrator learns of the ghost's story from the hotel manager. It's a sad tale of love and suicide. The ghost of Chizuru also visits the narrator and protects her.
In "Hard Luck," a family is grieving the passing of their daughter, Kuni. Kuni has minimum brain function and is being kept alive through machines. Eventually, her brain shuts down and the family makes the decision to disconnect the machines. The family, and more specifically the narrator, fears their own connection with Kuni will be severed when she goes off life support. They spend hours visiting her in the hospital, because it feels as if part of her is still there. Kuni is a young woman who had everything before her, she was cheerful, in love, and to be married soon. Unable to work through the grief in a public manner, her fiancée retreats to his parent's home while she's dying. This action brings the narrator into contact with the fiancée's brother, Sakai, who visits the hospital in his brother's absence. A love, of sorts, begins. Sakai is an outsider; he teaches Tai-Chi, has a long hair, and is quiet in an inward way. The combination of death and love is too much though, and the characters resolve to explore the feelings in the future, after the pain of Kuni's death has diminished. The narrator will move to Italy for her studies, and Sakai vows to stay true to this feeling.
In exploring loss, the novellas also play with time. How do we remember people? What makes us forget moments? Time bends and intertwines with memories as the narrators slip in and out of the present. The novellas go well together, because they act as before and after images of grief. In "Hardboiled," the narrator has moved on and forgotten about Chizuru, even though Chizuru was so important to her. "Hard Luck" though occurs while the pain is at its sharpest. The narrator is locked in her grief. Toward the end of the novella, after Kuni has died, the narrator is able to glimpse into the future. She can see that grief will not always dominate her life. There will be a point when her family can share in laughter again. There will be a time when she can fall into love. She will never be as tough as the narrator in "Hardboiled," but she will move on. We all will.
Both of the novellas revolve around loss and death. Each one has a young woman as the narrator who is reminiscing and saying goodbye to a loved one who has died. In "Hardboiled," the narrator remembers a former love, Chizuru, with whom she had a falling out, and whom later died. It takes place in the span of one night, in which the narrator is visited by a forlorn ghost in an old, countryside hotel. Through this encounter, the narrator learns of the ghost's story from the hotel manager. It's a sad tale of love and suicide. The ghost of Chizuru also visits the narrator and protects her.
In "Hard Luck," a family is grieving the passing of their daughter, Kuni. Kuni has minimum brain function and is being kept alive through machines. Eventually, her brain shuts down and the family makes the decision to disconnect the machines. The family, and more specifically the narrator, fears their own connection with Kuni will be severed when she goes off life support. They spend hours visiting her in the hospital, because it feels as if part of her is still there. Kuni is a young woman who had everything before her, she was cheerful, in love, and to be married soon. Unable to work through the grief in a public manner, her fiancée retreats to his parent's home while she's dying. This action brings the narrator into contact with the fiancée's brother, Sakai, who visits the hospital in his brother's absence. A love, of sorts, begins. Sakai is an outsider; he teaches Tai-Chi, has a long hair, and is quiet in an inward way. The combination of death and love is too much though, and the characters resolve to explore the feelings in the future, after the pain of Kuni's death has diminished. The narrator will move to Italy for her studies, and Sakai vows to stay true to this feeling.
In exploring loss, the novellas also play with time. How do we remember people? What makes us forget moments? Time bends and intertwines with memories as the narrators slip in and out of the present. The novellas go well together, because they act as before and after images of grief. In "Hardboiled," the narrator has moved on and forgotten about Chizuru, even though Chizuru was so important to her. "Hard Luck" though occurs while the pain is at its sharpest. The narrator is locked in her grief. Toward the end of the novella, after Kuni has died, the narrator is able to glimpse into the future. She can see that grief will not always dominate her life. There will be a point when her family can share in laughter again. There will be a time when she can fall into love. She will never be as tough as the narrator in "Hardboiled," but she will move on. We all will.
June 15, 2021
Two brilliant stories by one of my favourite authors Yoshimoto. The first of these two stories has a link to the main plot of her book Kitchen, took me a minute or two to realise why it seemed familiar and the second story is so heart felt and beautifully written that it had me mesmerised, she writes very basic stories about the human condition with such detail and perception that it moves me on a whole other level. I think I need to read more of her stories.
April 13, 2019
Two novellas that compliment each other. Love the plot for both on how it revolved around loved ones and death, reminiscing and memories. Yoshimoto ways in expressing those emotion of losing and emptiness somehow a bit bittersweet but I love that it represents the mellowness, those little hope and new happiness-- an act of accepting. Hardboiled was a bit surreal and dreamy, very mysterious (and spooky). Hard Luck was my favorite-- family and relationship, the plagued of memories from the past which written vividly. Very insightful. I'm falling in love with Yoshimoto again!
July 1, 2015
به خاطر علاقه ام به فضاهای سوریال و فانتزی در مجموع از داستان اول خوشم اومد، روایت روان و کاملی داشت. داستان دوم هم خوب روایت شده بود و در کل خوب بودن ترجمه هم کمک کرده بود که با داستان ها پیش برم و توی ۳ ساعت ممتد کتاب رو بخونم.
داستان اول یک مقدار به فضا های کارتون های گوتیک ژاپنی شباهت داره و داستان دوم یک ملودرام ژاپنی که از نظر من تفاوت ۱۸۰ درجه ای در ژانر دارن اما هر دو من رو راضی کردن و حس خوبی از خوندن این اثر دارم
داستان اول یک مقدار به فضا های کارتون های گوتیک ژاپنی شباهت داره و داستان دوم یک ملودرام ژاپنی که از نظر من تفاوت ۱۸۰ درجه ای در ژانر دارن اما هر دو من رو راضی کردن و حس خوبی از خوندن این اثر دارم
May 20, 2016
Eh. Very cute. I liked the second novella, Hard Luck, a lot better than the first, Hard Boiled, even though I originally thought that the reverse would be true. Maybe it was just the translation, but I just couldn't really get into it.
Octopus for Sarah!
Octopus for Sarah!
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