Catfish Rolling

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especially when she begins to see shadows and her own father seems to be slipping as if caught in his own, odd time bubble. This will be one of those elusive narratives that I won’t be able to review well because words can’t capture the magic of Catfish Rolling. When her father goes missing, she sees no choice but to hunt him down because she suspects he's slipped into another time. In this book, the different time zones had managed to instigate suspense and mystery everytime Sora went into it. It won’t be an enjoyable read for everyone, and I don’t think a book for the masses was the author’s intention.

Before reading this book I was largely unaware of the myth of Namazu (or Onamazu) – the giant catfish which lives under Japan and is responsible for it’s earthquakes.I think I first read about this Japanese mythology when I was reading Ruth Ozeki’s “A Tale for the Time Being”. She swings wildly from impersonal and respectful to sarcastic and blunt within the same conversation, no matter who she’s talking to. The timeline jumps back and forth through different periods of her life so the reader is putting the pieces together as they do.

It is an incredibly well written story, which I gather was at least partly inspired by the Tōhoku earthquake in 2011. Catfish Rolling reminded me a bit of Mike Chen's books, mostly his first, Here and Now and Then, which also dealt with time. while the main character Sora was in Tokyo) I genuinely had to force myself to keep reading and to stay invested.There’s a feeling this story gives you that is impossible to explain, and I can already tell I’m doing this wrong. My New Year’s resolution this year was to read more Young Adult titles – one that so far has proved far better for my soul than dieting or starting a new exercise regime. And the mysteries hiding in each journey varied so much that it’s not surprising most people were afraid of the zones. Then, it fast forwards to her graduation, where she's still suffering under the loss of her mother (years later), but considering the various time pockets, which have formed, her attitude is understandable.

The fantastical elements melded well for the most part, but I got confused in the last few chapters as things sorta get surreal and extreme. On a larger scale, we also see the rippling effects the earthquake has had in shaping Japan and its culture as a whole. I love any premise that discusses time - time-travelling, time shift, the reason I am a big fan of Christopher Nolan.

However, I think, the time concept being presented was too heavy, and repetitive at times, without considering readers’ understanding, perhaps? The majority of the story takes place seven years later, as the world is adjusting to the change in time flow in certain areas. Another element of this book I loved a lot, is that even if it’s often not easy for Sora to have 2 nationalities, it is so enriching too. Coincidentally (or not), that was also the moment when Sora stopped being a one-dimensional character and started to feel like an actual, relatable human being with a fully fleshed out and wide array of emotions. Personally, it was the depiction of grief, and the intersection of grief and time, that resonated with me the most.

You have to be okay with a slower pacing and not expect a flashy, plot heavy sci-fi novel, but if you surrender yourself the currents of this story, you’re in for an absolute treat. Up until then, i was also quite annoyed by Sora because she just came off as a bland, no-personality character (which I thought was a pity since I was SUPPOSED to be able to relate to her quite a bit). Considering this is a fantasy book containing a lot of science, it’s not surprising that Catfish Rolling is more of a feeling than something that can be explained. Sora feeling lost in the unknown future, and the bittersweet nature of changing friendships, felt incredibly relatable.I’m glad it had a great narrator (Susan Momoko-Hingley), with a somewhat hyponasal voice but a great voice anyway and a nice accent and intonation. trochę wonky napisane i jeszcze ostatnie 2 godziny audiobooka mega mnie nudziły i często się wyłączałam słuchając. Kumagai is not here to answer your questions; she’s here to trap you in this narrative and keep you so intrigued you can’t escape. I've never read any mythology fiction before but this book is the perfect place to start in my opinion!