Asleep (SqueakyChu's Bookray)
ISBN: 0802138209 Global Overview for this book
38 journalers for this copy...
From the back of the book:
"In Asleep, Banana Yoshimoto, the internationally best-selling author of Kitchen, gives us three dazzling stories of young women bewitched into a spiritual sleep. One mourning for a lost lover, finds herself sleepwalking at night. Another, who has embarked on a relationship with a man whose wife is in a coma, finds herself suddenly unable to stay awake. A third finds her sleep haunted by a woman whom she was once pitted against in a love triangle. Sly and mystical as a ghost story, with a touch of Kafkaesque surrealism, Asleep is a delight."
International Bookray (Begins 1/8/05)
SqueakyChu (Maryland) done
rhythmbiscuit (Colorado) done
CdnBlueRose (Colorado) done
midwinter (Arizona) done
affinity4books (Texas) done
lunabjp (Missouri) done
chryso (Michigan) done
megi53 (Virginia) done
Lpree (Maryland) done
petaloka (New York) done -- Stop #10
vivdripper (Massachusetts) done
Sobergirl (Finland) done
Niksu (Finland) done
CandyDarling (Finland) done
Hawkette (UK) done -- 1 year of travel
woosang (Australia) done
Imn60 (Australia) done
ldpaulson (California, USA) done
Suefitz (California, USA) done -- 2 years of travel
hendertuckian (Nevada, USA) done -- Stop #20
LOTUSNEKO (Illinois, USA) done
Neuilly (Maine, USA) done
Jare (New Mexico, USA) done
iliotropio (Belgium) done -- 3 years of travel
kiyoitsukikage (Poland) done
hippolein (Finland) done
Teddyke (Finland) done
Aspen72 (Finland) done
seethroughfaith (Finland) done
hiddencat12 (UK) done -- Stop #30
pazyryk (Portugal) done -- 4 years of travel
ielfling (New Zealand) done
jubby (Australia) done
FreePages (Australia) done
Jean-Sol (Australia) done
hyphen8 (Hawaii, USA) done
peacejunkie84 (Alabama, USA) -- 5 years of travel
International Bookray (Ends 1/17/10)
This bookray was ended because it remained stalled in Alabama with no further word of it for 8 months. Thanks to all who participated, helping to achieve a Most Travelled Book status for this book. This book travelled for 5 years with 37 stops, including 7 countries and 16 states in the USA.
ETA: Hurray! This book was on BookCrossing's list of 100 Most Traveled Books. On (06/17/09), it was listed as Book #35.
I definitely liked the first of the three stores the best. This was a nice introduction to Yoshimoto's writing. I'd like to continue to explore more of her works.
The book is on its way to rhythmbiscuit. Enjoy!
Happy reading!
Released 19 yrs ago (3/10/2005 UTC) at
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Mailed to CdnBlueRose. Enjoy!
Incidentally, my bf, Telerandil, read this in one sitting on the day it arrived, so it's been enjoyed by one other person on it's travels :)
Passing on to affinity4books today...
Thanks for sharing this adorable little book and introducing me to a new author!
Released 18 yrs ago (5/12/2005 UTC) at
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
mailed to the next on the list
Asleep arrived in the mail today, and I plan to finish it by the 2nd week of July.
Usually I don't care for supernatural elements in fiction, but Banana's books are an exception. Tanaka the midget's sceance in *Love Songs* was awesome!
The weather was a major factor in the plots, and I thought it was interesting that the first story was set mainly in winter, the second in spring, and the third in summer.
My only complaints are that the action jumped from present to past so often in "Night and Night's Travelers" that it was hard for me to keep up; and that the translator sometimes overused a word. "Vaguely" comes to mind -- it appeared twice on the same page.
Terako's experiences with work during her temp jobs were fun to read about. A quote from her story that especially resonated with me: "I think that at some point along the way the feeling of being healthy must have come back to me." (p. 175)
Mailing to Lpree during my lunch hour today.
I already have petaloka's address and will mail it out in the next couple of days.
Thanks very much to SqueakyChu for starting this ray!
--media mailed to petaloka on july 6--
I'll read this before 13th. We have our monthly BC-meetup then so I'll hope I can give this book to CandyDarling there.
I have PM'd with CandyDarling and we'll meet in our BC-meeting on 13th August.
There is something so mesmorising about Banana's stories. They aren't really of or about anything, just a whispy, dreamy feeling to them, which can carry you away.
I will be sending this on as soon as I have an address. Thanks for sharing it around!
**Hiding under desk in shame!**
The first story was nice, about healing after losing someone dear, but my favourite is the second story of a woman coming to terms with a woman in her past. Thanks for sharing I apologise again for holding the whole ray up, and it will travel next week to the next person.
As other journallers have noted, I too enjoyed the 'dreamlike' quality of her writing - thought suspect that some of the more delicate nuances have been lost in translation.
Of the three stories, I enjoyed the final one, 'Asleep', the most. I didn't read it as a story of depression, however, and found myself wondering what it was about Mr Iwanaga that led the two women in his life to spend so much time sleeping....
Thanks for sharing this one, SqueakyChu. I'll PM janetcarolina straight away and send it over to Peru ASAP.
It's off to suefitz!
Will be mailing out tomorrow
Released 17 yrs ago (2/10/2007 UTC) at Bookray in -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, trades, California USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Releasing to next in line Hendertuckian.
Enjoy
Released 17 yrs ago (3/10/2007 UTC) at -- By Post Or By Hand/ In Person, RABCK, Bookring/Ray in Henderson, Nevada USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I'm sorry it took so long for me to read but as good as it was, I kept falling asleep. It drove me nuts as I would be able to read a page or two then nap. Some great sleeping however. I would wake up and try to read a few more pages but if I didn't get up and move around, I was falling asleep again. The book itself was ghosty and wispy but not in a ghoulish sense. sending it on to the next person in the bookring
Asleep contains three novellas all dealing not only with sleep and the other side of that coin, insomnia, but sleep as a border between dreams and reality, between life and death. What the stories are about does not matter so much as the vehicle of prose that carries the characters and the reader along on what truly feels like a literary cloud. Usually, in a book of novellas, one will stand out as your favorite. All the stories here are equally good. The very end of the last story wraps the theme up to a positive, upbeat close.
The book is of course translated from Japanese, but the character''s stories, all told in first-person, contain universal feelings and emotions. Yoshimoto wends her pen so deftly that the book has an emotional healing quality.
I recommend reading this book when you are drowsy and about two hours away from sleeping. If that is not possible, at least be very relaxed with no interruptions if possible. Let her take you to the edge.
Ten stars for this book; highly recommended. Sweet dreams!
Terrabruciata never responded to my request for a mailing address. This book is now packaged and ready to send to Neuilly.
What fabulous writing!! It's really beautiful. I guess it could be called simplistic but it's amazing how much like a dream her writing really is (especially considering it had to survive translating). There's an overlying sense of melancholy to the story but it's not really a depressing tale. The funny part is that I got so wrapped up in the style of her writing that it kind of distracted me from the story itself, lol. But then again while I liked the writing, I'm not quite sure how I felt about the story...wasn't particularly interesting to me, but the writing sucked me in. Not sure if that made any sense but those are my thoughts!!
And on to the next two stories!! (but perhaps finishing up the other book first, we'll see)
Thanks squeakychu for starting this ring!! You've blessed me with so many good books in the past few years :)
Edit:
9/6/07: Finished story number 2: Love Songs. I liked this one much more. I could connect to it better although I've never been in a situation like that. However, the idea that when looking back you showed love to the wrong people or hid your true feelings about others is relevant to everyone. Often in the most emotional time people are the worst at analyzing themselves and their lives. I thought this story was told really well and I love the Midget. Mizuo...not entirely sure what I thought about it. He was indeed hard to read, but her affection for him was very clear. In the end, this story actually left me rather happy.
11-11-07 sent a second PM to KarinAlyssa for address.
01-15-07 KarinAlyssa, Necroscope, and Xanthe-pup are all asking to be skipped, so I have sent a PM to YellowBow for an address to move the book along.
01-16-07 YellowBow has asked to be moved down on the list, have PM'd iliotropio
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing!
Released 15 yrs ago (9/19/2008 UTC) at To the next participant, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
On the way to Finland
Looking forward to reading the book ;-) will probably go to my dear wife first, as I have 3 rings before it :-(
I liked the first two stories a lot, talked to me in a strange way, very enjoyable, nice to go through and think about.
But then the last one I just didn't get the hang of it, seemed so super strange that I didn't find the topic attractive at all. I did manage to finish it (what happens when you don't have anything else to read during the trips with the metro) but certainly wouldn't want to read it again.
This stays still TBR as my wife will give it a try!
Released 15 yrs ago (10/6/2008 UTC) at By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This book leaves this afternoon for Turku.
Didn't want to wait one week to get it delivered by another bookcrosser, but the other book for Aspen72 will come that way ;-)
Have fun reading!
Somehow her stories in this book were simple, having only few details. Those few things were analysed and told and retold and once again retold several times from different viewpoints. Structure could be described like "peeling of an onion", having kind of healing effect, which made reading a bit exhausting, and I became a bit uneasy due to slow tempo, even though all novels had kind of positive ending.
Her writings are easy to read - once I've heard a comment that if a text is easy to read, lots of work has been put into it. I don't know how much translation affects here.
Thanks for sharing! I'll give this to seethroughfaith, soon.
#62 release in Keep them moving 2008 challenge
Will try to get this read soon - and hope it's as good as Aspen said :) And will PM hiddencat12 now to get her address etc.
Thanks everyone for this ring. I haven't had time to read the comments yet. But I will ...
Hello seethroughfaith,
Just a quick and fun note. With your receipt of Asleep, you have
catapulted this book into Bookcrossing's List of top 100 Most Traveled
Books. Thought you'd like to know! :)
http://www.bookcrossing.com/bookstats/mosttraveled
Best,
SqueakyChu
I really didn't like the middle story at all - and thought the first one was the best of the three.
Thanks for the opportunity to read it though. I have hiddencat12's address so it'll be going out this week!
This is the 24th book I've read for the 2008 A-Z challenge on the Finnish Forum. (I still have five books to read, I (I), O, U and Z. There are two I's because in Finnish there are 29 letters in the alphabet so three letters were added at random for those of us who chose not to read in Finnish. Hoping I can make the challenge let's see!)
The first story felt like it should be longer and it took me a while to get used to the jumping back and forth but the second one was very good and the last one is cool so far.
am now just waiting for yellowbow's address
Released 15 yrs ago (11/26/2008 UTC) at RABCK, -- Por correio / mão própria -- Portugal
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
I posted this book at about 1.00 today so hopfully it will arrive within a few days.
First book of this author and it was a wonderful discover. I really loved the style and the story plots, specially the last one "Asleep". Thank you very much for this opportunity SqueakyChu. I will send it now for the other side of the planet, to Ielfling in New Zealand.
This is now on it's way to jubby!
Thank you very much for organising this ring SqueakyChu, and to you ielfling for posting it to me.
Looking forward to reading this bookring in the near future (I've got two others I am currently reading).
Edited 22/4/09:
Yes, I did post this book on before journalling it - sorry Freepages.
I have been struggling with work and a small, non-sleeping, night-loving baby. But, I was finally able to get myself to the post office, and thought I would seize the opportunity and get this (and several other books) posted off before journalling.
I greatly enjoyed reading this bookring.
I had also read 'Amrita', and was disappointed at the time, because I felt that perhaps the work itself had not been as diligently translated as this book has been.
I can see common themes of loss, sexuality, coming of age and the border between the real and spiritual world in all of the Banana Yoshimoto stories that I have read so far.
I especially liked her way of writing that seems so effortless and convivial, while gathering in suspense and drama.
Lots of fun, and I will certainly be making an effort to read more of her stories (which I already have, but must make the effort to read).
Thank you for sharing this book with me.
PS. Hollistic asked to be skipped, and mentioned joining another bookring for this book.
I wasn't quite expecting it to turn up in my mailbox this quick!
It's also arrived before dear Jubby has had a chance to journal it.
I'm really interested in this book because I'm on a ring for her book "Kitchen" that has made it onto the 1001 list and it sounds like this one will be a good intro to her writing. It's also fun to read a book thats made it onto the BC most travelled list.
I must say it's still in good condition to.
I'll pause my reading of "Great Expectations" and start on this today.
Thanks for sending it Jubby, and everyone else before...
I'll check with Hollistic to see if they want it next.
:-)
Released 14 yrs ago (4/23/2009 UTC) at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
This was an entertaining little book. There seemed to be an intangible feeling of loss throughout and the writing was very much like Haruki Murakami's.
I couldn't really pick a favourite of the 3, there were elements of each that I liked. Quite ironically, I was reading it in bed and the dreamlike easy feel of the stories lulled me off to sleep once or twice :-)
In the post today to Jean-Sol. Hollistic asked to be skiped.
Thanks to Squeaky-chu for the opportunity to read it and everyone else who passed it on before me.
The book is now at the top of my TBR list. I'm very curious to read it.
CAUGHT IN MELBOURNE VICTORIA AUSTRALIA
Released 14 yrs ago (5/8/2009 UTC) at Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Leaving rainy, wintry Melbourne today and on its to hyphen8 and exotic Hawaii (3 Australian 'Earth Hour' stamps on the envelope which I hope you will like, hyphen8).
Thank you for the stamps!
Apparently the Velcro on the reusable envelopes is as hearty as it appears to be - this book got from Australia to Hawaii with no other sealing, which makes me feel like maybe I can risk *not* putting tape on it when I send it out again! ;)
I'm a bit astonished, though. This book seems to have gotten through with no customs info and no return address?! I've had domestic packages "inspected" for not having a return address, so I guess Jean-Sol must have the magic touch.
What I'll remember from this book? Butter soy sauce popcorn. Gonna have to try that one.
Oh, and I love fireworks. In Japanese the word is hanabi - it uses the characters for flower (hana) and fire (hi), which has always seemed perfect to me - much more descriptive than the English. Photo of hanabi in Japan taken from this website: http://www.japantravel.co.uk/ask/index.php/2008/01/15/japanese-fireworks/ (edited to add the characters for the word).
PM'd peacejunkie84 for an address so I can send this on..and got a reply so this book will go out on Tuesday (since Monday's a holiday). A book that's been traveling for 4 years carries a lot of responsibility, so I'll get it moving again ASAP! :)
Edit: work is so crazy right now that I wish I'd exercised a little selective incompetence a while back (like one of the characters in this book) so I wouldn't be expected to do so much!
This well-traveled little book will be mailed to Alabama tomorrow. For a book that's nominally about sleeping, it sure is active! ;)
Set the status as traveling since it isn't in my possession.