Asleep

Book Description

Critics

• 'Asleep' by Banana Yoshimoto

  Following on from Jonathan Coe's House of Sleep, here's another book focused on slumber. As someone who is rather fond of sleeping — yes, I'd happily laze in bed 24/7 if I could — I was intrigued by this book by Japanese writer Banana Yoshimoto. Firs ... (read full critics)

  readingmatters published on Sat, 24 Dec 2011

2 Reviews

• 

  Very intimate and personal

  I loved the way these three women describe their lives, their gains and loses in a way that is not complaining or regretting; only describing. They tell you their story and you decide the value of it. A woman than can't stay awake because she is sleeping with a man married to a woman in comma; a gir ... (continue)

  I loved the way these three women describe their lives, their gains and loses in a way that is not complaining or regretting; only describing. They tell you their story and you decide the value of it. A woman than can't stay awake because she is sleeping with a man married to a woman in comma; a girl that has to comfort her cousin, who sleepwalks after her boyfriend's death; and a girl that finds herself talking to her dead rival in her dreams. In general, I think that this book is worth a try.

  Is this helpful?

  ariadna73 said on May 29, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Wonderful!

  What can I say, Banana does it again. In three short stories, she manages to capture three women's stories in the entanglement of the simple act of sleeping, love, and of death -- a sleepwalker because of a death of lover, one haunted by the ghost/memory of a former lover's other girlfriend, one wh ... (continue)

  What can I say, Banana does it again. In three short stories, she manages to capture three women's stories in the entanglement of the simple act of sleeping, love, and of death -- a sleepwalker because of a death of lover, one haunted by the ghost/memory of a former lover's other girlfriend, one who does nothing but sleep because her lover's husband is in a coma.

  Each is written in sparse yet beautiful prose. Each story is a gem with Banana's trademark otherworldliness.

  Is this helpful?

  guiltlessreader aka screamingbanshee said on Dec 5, 2008 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
  (33)
  • 5 stars
  • 4 stars
  • 3 stars
  • 2 stars
  • 1 star
• English Books
• Hardcover 177 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0802116698
• ISBN-13: 9780802116697
• Publisher: Grove Pr
• Pub date: Jul 01, 2000
• Dimensions: 1161 mm x 839 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Paperback
• In other languages: other languages 和書, Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Libri Italiani

Margin notes of this book

Prices Change currency & sellers