The Suicide Shop
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 5/24/2017
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 5/24/2017 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I first heard of this book via this French-language copy, sent to me by BCer katalobonga for me to release in Quebec on an upcoming road trip. The plot of this one, a black comedy about a "suicide shop" at the end of the world, intrigued me, and when I found there was an English edition available I ordered it at once.
There's a quote on the cover calling it a "gently comic fable" - I'd go for two out of three of those words, but maybe "darkly" works better than "gently". While a lot of the story is quite funny, there are dark elements too, and I wouldn't call the overall feeling "gentle".
"Fable," most definitely: it's about appreciating life, making the most of it even in the face of massively depressing circumstances. Though if one delves a bit deeper, most of the people who come out of the story happier than they went in didn't actually have that many serious problems to begin with - an angst-ridden, self-conscious teen, for example, who becomes Beautiful When She Smiles.
The setting is a small shop in a big city, in a world where disasters are piling up and the news is full of yet another bombing, plague, or climate-related disaster. Because of this, or so it is suggested, most people are chronically depressed and many seek a quick way out - hence the Suicide Shop, one of a number of ways in which people can find a way of offing themselves. [Some folks don't bother with buying supplies - there are several scenes describing people jumping from nearby skyscrapers and falling like sand...]
The shop itself is colorful and diverse, with everything from a full-blown seppuku setup (kimono with an "X" to mark the spot, sword, etc.) to randomly-poisoned candies (so kids have a 50/50 chance of actually dying). Nooses for hanging, a variety of poisons, and more elaborate Rube Goldberg devices - it's all played for dark comedy, and could easily be illustrated by Charles Addams or Gahan Wilson.
But all is not happily morbid. The shop's owners and their two oldest children are all depressed, yet invested in keeping the shop running - they even explain to customers why they can't kill *themselves* just yet, however much they want to. Son Vincent has headaches and spends a lot of time in his room; daughter Marilyn thinks she's homely and broods a great deal; parents Mishima and Lucrece are proud of them and have plans to incorporate them more fully into the shop. [The bit about the poisonous kisses was especially... interesting.]
But the youngest child, Alan, is something of a changeling, a surprise and disappointment to the family: even as a baby, he smiled all the time, and as a young child he laughed and sang and insisted on being cheerful - and, worse (from their viewpoint) tried to cheer up everyone else, including potential customers! What's a family to do?
[For bonus points, see if you can spot the theme behind the character's names. It's brought out in the story eventually, but I'd only spotted a couple of them, and was pleased to see the rest!]
The story features Alan's continued attempts to cheer up his family and the customers who stop by, and he seems to be making some progress, first with Marilyn, then with Vincent (the crepes in the form of skull-and-bones tickled me) - but will his folks allow this state of affairs to continue? And, given the state of the world, is Alan's cheer really that good of an idea?
The story takes a strange turn near the end, and left me feeling adrift, but overall I liked it very much.
There is a 2012 animated film based on the book, which sounds... interesting!
[There is a TV Tropes page on the book and the film, with some amusing comments but do beware of spoilers if you haven't read the book yet.]
There's a quote on the cover calling it a "gently comic fable" - I'd go for two out of three of those words, but maybe "darkly" works better than "gently". While a lot of the story is quite funny, there are dark elements too, and I wouldn't call the overall feeling "gentle".
"Fable," most definitely: it's about appreciating life, making the most of it even in the face of massively depressing circumstances. Though if one delves a bit deeper, most of the people who come out of the story happier than they went in didn't actually have that many serious problems to begin with - an angst-ridden, self-conscious teen, for example, who becomes Beautiful When She Smiles.
The setting is a small shop in a big city, in a world where disasters are piling up and the news is full of yet another bombing, plague, or climate-related disaster. Because of this, or so it is suggested, most people are chronically depressed and many seek a quick way out - hence the Suicide Shop, one of a number of ways in which people can find a way of offing themselves. [Some folks don't bother with buying supplies - there are several scenes describing people jumping from nearby skyscrapers and falling like sand...]
The shop itself is colorful and diverse, with everything from a full-blown seppuku setup (kimono with an "X" to mark the spot, sword, etc.) to randomly-poisoned candies (so kids have a 50/50 chance of actually dying). Nooses for hanging, a variety of poisons, and more elaborate Rube Goldberg devices - it's all played for dark comedy, and could easily be illustrated by Charles Addams or Gahan Wilson.
But all is not happily morbid. The shop's owners and their two oldest children are all depressed, yet invested in keeping the shop running - they even explain to customers why they can't kill *themselves* just yet, however much they want to. Son Vincent has headaches and spends a lot of time in his room; daughter Marilyn thinks she's homely and broods a great deal; parents Mishima and Lucrece are proud of them and have plans to incorporate them more fully into the shop. [The bit about the poisonous kisses was especially... interesting.]
But the youngest child, Alan, is something of a changeling, a surprise and disappointment to the family: even as a baby, he smiled all the time, and as a young child he laughed and sang and insisted on being cheerful - and, worse (from their viewpoint) tried to cheer up everyone else, including potential customers! What's a family to do?
[For bonus points, see if you can spot the theme behind the character's names. It's brought out in the story eventually, but I'd only spotted a couple of them, and was pleased to see the rest!]
The story features Alan's continued attempts to cheer up his family and the customers who stop by, and he seems to be making some progress, first with Marilyn, then with Vincent (the crepes in the form of skull-and-bones tickled me) - but will his folks allow this state of affairs to continue? And, given the state of the world, is Alan's cheer really that good of an idea?
The story takes a strange turn near the end, and left me feeling adrift, but overall I liked it very much.
There is a 2012 animated film based on the book, which sounds... interesting!
[There is a TV Tropes page on the book and the film, with some amusing comments but do beware of spoilers if you haven't read the book yet.]
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Little Free Library, South St. in Milford, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, June 4, 2017
GoryDetails at Little Free Library, South St. in Milford, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, June 4, 2017
Released 6 yrs ago (6/4/2017 UTC) at Little Free Library, South St. in Milford, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book in the Little Free Library at around 3; hope the finder enjoys it![See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2017 Allergic to A release challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2017 Movie release challenge. ***
